Jan 9

Chapter 639: Isabella
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
If not for the shackles on her hands and feet, Isabella would have forgotten that she was a prisoner .
After she had told Roland's witches that the God's Stones of Retaliation embedded in the walls of the
cell could not affect her ability, she had been transferred to an ordinary bedroom guarded by some
guards. When she had been sent back to the Western Region of Graycastle, she had got a "cell" similar
to the previous bedroom. It was not damp or cold and had no dirty water flowing on the ground. In this
quite spacious room, she was offered a bed, a bench and a toilet in a cubicle. All the windows of the
room were blocked by iron strips, but warm sunshine could still get through them into the room. The
conditions here were much better than that of the secret jail of Pivotal Secret Authority.
Having outstanding looks, she had thought that she would get some "normal" treatment of prisoners of
war, but nothing had happened. No one had sneaked into her room at night. She had not been
humiliated or tortured. The guards at the door never spoke to her except when they delivered meals to
her.
The most frequent visitors to her cell were two of Roland's witches. One was said to come from 400
years ago and another one who was blonde always wore a hood. No matter what they had asked,
Isabella had answered them honestly. She had even asked them to bring her papers and a quill to write
down some recordings of the secret history and demon documents she had read in Pivotal Secret
Temple's Library.
The witches had never tortured her either, but she could tell that the blonde witch wanted to give her a
hard time. She felt confused seeing her leave with a cold face every time when she finished answering
all their questions.
She knew that they would not believe whatever she said, and based on what had happened during each
of their visits, she was sure that one of them must be able to detect lies. She guessed that the blonde
witch was planning to punish her when she caught her lying, but this thought made her even more
confused. She just could not think of a reason for this action, as they could do whatever they want to a
prisoner.
She felt increasingly oppressed by worry as the time went by.

She wondered why Roland Wimbledon had never appeared during the past two months.
She could think of only two answers to this question. First, the king had not woke up yet. Second, he
never planned to meet her. Neither of these was good news for her. She believed that after she
confessed all she knew, she would be put on trial and then executed.
Ready to devote all she had to defeat demons, Isabella had no complaints about her current situation,
but waiting to die day after day still stressed her out.
She sighed and walked in chains to her bed. She sat down, picked up her quill and spread a blank paper
on her laps, thinking that if she could finish writing down all she remebered quickly, she would be able
to come to her end sooner.
At this moment, she heard footsteps outside.
It sounded like more than two people were coming to her cell.
Isabella's heart vibrated.
Her door was pushed open. She put down the quill and turned around. Besides the two witches, here
came a gray-haired young man. Based on the previous information she had received, she knew he was
Roland Wimbledon, the King of Graycastle.
He woke up?
"Does he come to sentence me?"
Keeping those thoughts to herself, she stood up and slightly bowed to him.
She said with feigned indifference, "I thought you would never come to meet me."
To her great surprise, Roland said calmly, "You're Isabella, right? You're the witch who made my God's
Stones of Retaliation lose effect. I didn't meant to postpone this meeting with you. I had an incredible
long dream and just woke up. I fought against Zero in the dream and I defeated her in the end. However,
as the winner, I didn't get everything, her knowledge or skills, as she said."
"It's impossible!" Isabella blurted.
Roland asked with great interest, "Why? I guess I can't get what she had, as I'm a man who can never
become a witch."
"It's nothing to do with gender." Isabella shook her head. "The trophy a winner will get in Soul
Battlefield is memories and lifespan, which can be owned by any human being, and only the creatures
who have those two things can step into Soul Battlefield. As for the abilities of witches and magic power,
they can't be absorbed by the winner. Otherwise, Zero would have absorbed me."
"What do you mean... There're creatures she can't invade and absorb?"
Isabella explained, "Animals can't get into the Soul Battlefield, as they've no intelligence. Even if they did
and win, they can never understand human beings' memories."
"That may also be caused by the difference between species."
"As far as I know, among the thousands of souls she absorbed, there're some demon and some hybrid
demonic beast." She sighed and continued. "But it happened before I was born. I've just heard her
mention about it when we were chatting."
"Demon and... demonic beast?" Hearing what Isabella said, Roland and his witches could not help but
look at each other at a loss for words.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" The blonde witch shouted this question to Isabella.
"Because this will only increase your anxiety and hardly helps you." Isabella paused and slowed down to
explain. "Even Zero herself admitted that the memories of the other species were so crazy that they
placed a heavy burden on her. She said she had never tried it again after that."
The king did not seem to be scared. Instead, he smiled and said, "Interesting. By the way, did Zero
mention to you what would happen to the losers in Soul Battlefield?"
"They'll disappear from this world as if they never exist."
Roland raised his eyebrow and asked, "Any difference between the losers who give up voluntarily and
those who fight to death?"
"All of them will disappear, but..." Isabel continued after a thought. "Zero seemed to have said that the
memories she absorbed could be divided into two kinds."
Roland seemed particularly interested in this issue and asked, "What are they?"
"One kind of memories were disorganized with residual consciousness of the losers. They would affect
Zero herself. The other kind of memories were completely open to her. She could read them whenever
she wanted." She paused for a moment and continued. "She said that it was harder to recall and easier
to forget the first kind of memories... She casually mentioned it once. I didn't ask her for more details at
that time, but I'm sure you're an exception. I've never seen anyone like you before, who get no
memories at all."
Roland closed his eyes and knitted his eyebrows, he seemed to be thinking about something extremely
complicated. He remained speechless for nearly 10 minutes and then heaved a long sigh, saying, "I see."
"What on earth was he thinking?"
Curious as she was, she still kept her mouth shut.
She knew that she should never ask such a question as a prisoner.
Roland said to her, "Now, let's talk about you."
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Chapter 640: Dream World Hypotheses
Isabella slightly lowered her head, waiting for her sentence in silence.
Roland sounded calm. "You should thank your own ability, not because it's unique, but because it can't
kill anyone. No matter how felonious an act you're involved in, such as assisting Zero in attacking me,
you're just an accessory offender. I can spare your life, but you still have to atone for your sin, like the
others who violate the law."
Roland's words somehow took a weight off her mind. She was not afraid of death, but not fond of it,
either.
"As long as you can defeat demons, I'm willing to do everything for you."
Roland said slowly, "demons are enemies of the mankind. I'll certainly fight against them till death, but
my way is different from that of the church. I won't try to win the Battle of Divine Will at the cost of
destroying human beings' potential. Given that, you've got to change some of your habits. From now on,
you're no longer a Pure Witch of the church. Instead, you're an atoning witch."
Zero, you were wrong. He knew about demons and the Union a long time ago and is even ready to fight
the Battle of Divine Will. Indeed, he was a common man whose life and belief would come to the end
after decades, but now, he gets your limitless lifespan. Given that, he must be the chosen one of the
deities.
At this thought, Isabella knelt down with her shackles. She lowered her head, letting all her long hair
spread over the floor, and said, "yes, my lord."
When she stood up again, Roland opened his mouth and said, "here's not the Holy City of Hermes, and
you're not a servant to me. You're just an atoning person, but I won't send you to the mines to do hard
labor for twenty years. All you have to do is to cooperate with Agatha in her research on the magic
power.
Isabella was startled, wondering, "that's all I have to do for him?"
Roland continued to say, "your atoning period is five years. I'll ask Wendy to arrange a new place for you
to live and during this period of time, you don't have to wear any shackles, but you only have limited
freedom. That's to say, besides your living place and Agatha's Spellcaster Tower, if you want to go
anywhere else, you'll have to act under the Witch Union's surveillance."
"Yes, I see."
"By the way, are you sure that there are no other witches in the Holy City?" asked Roland.
She had answered this question for many times since she had become a prisoner. She thought for a
moment and still shook her head, saying, "for this decisive battle, Zero converted all the useless new
witches into God's Punishment Warriors and took all the other witches to the battlefield. There're still
many girls in cloisters, but awakenings of new witches seldom happen before Months of Demons.
Vanilla, Margie and me are probably the only three remaining Pure Witches of the church."
Having heard what she said, Roland said nothing. He turned around and walked toward the door. The
blonde witch came up and unlock her shackles.
Seeing herself get free hands again, Isabella could hardly believe what had happened. Is this my
sentence? No jail time, no humiliation and no torture. Is he serious?
She suddenly spoke out, "Your Majesty, what about Vanilla and Margie..."
Roland looked back at her and said, "they're better than you. They were just influenced by the distorted
ideas of the cloisters' education, far from being crazy. If they can give up those thoughts, they may even
join the Witch Union."
Roland and the two witches left. The cell door creaked shut.
"So that's it," Isabella felt completely relieved. She lay on her plank bed in the sunshine coming through
the window. Despite the glaring light, she squinted up at the blue sky behind the steel bars.
"What a lovely day," she thought.
***************
Back in the office, Nightingale expressed her discontent, saying, "her punishment is too light. She almost
killed you."
"It's Zero who almost killed me, not her." Roland handed her a piece of dried fish.
She took it with her mouth and mumbled, "she created such a chance for Zero. Otherwise, it was
impossible for you to be dragged into Soul Battlefield.
Roland explained patiently, "but you can tell she really wants to fight against demons, can't you? She
didn't commit an unforgivable crime, and I'm just alright. That's enough for her punishment. By doing
so, we show all the people that we're willing to spend a thousand pieces of gold to buy outstanding
talents."
"Spend a thousand gold royals...and what?"
"Uhm... I mean propaganda effects." Roland coughed twice and continued. "Seeing her example, more
people will understand that as long as they don't break legal bottom line, they'll still get a chance by
making atonement. After all, our enemy is demons. To increase our odds of winning the Battle of Divine
Will, letting her redeem herself by good services is the best choice."
Nightingale twitched her lips and said, "well, I'll watch her for you."
Roland walked to the French window and recalled what Isabella had said.
The memories Zero absorbed could be divided into two kinds. One kind of memories was disorganized
with a residual consciousness of the losers. They would affect Zero herself. The other kind of memories
were complete and open to her. She could read them whenever she wanted. She said that it was harder
to recall and easier to forget the first kind of memories...
Is this the reason why she repeatedly persuaded me to give in during the Battle of Souls?
She suffered no side-effects in absorbing the surrenders who willingly gave her all their memories.
That's why she stopped at all the crucial moments.
She wanted me to give up fighting, in order to get my complete memories.
He found that this process seemed similar to the one in which he possessed Prince Roland's body.
As Prince Roland's memories were just like that, complete and always there in his head. He could easily
recall the prince's memories anytime he wanted to and put them aside when he did not need them.
They were like archived files. He did not have to memorize any detail of them, but even after a year
when he opened them again they still remained the same as before.
Given that Prince Roland had been killed by Garcia's assassin and had no willpower to resist his death at
that time, he thought he could be considered a loser who gave up in the Battle of Souls.
Now, he was wondering what the strong-willed losers would do?
Based on what Isabella had said, this kind of memories with the residual consciousness of the losers
would affect Zero herself, including changing her thoughts, personality, and even beliefs. Absorbing
thousands of souls had made her complex, technically, a very different person from who she had been
before.
If she had wanted vengeance on him, she would have poured all those crazy memories into his mind.
When that happened, she would end up being shattered, but Roland would not be the same Roland as
before.
In this chaotic storm of memories, each unyielding soul's willpower would strive for predominance in his
mind. Zero would take this chance to come back again.
However, out of Zero's expectation, he was not a man of this era.
The amount of information a person living in the modern age absorbed in one day was equivalent to
that of a person in ancient times did in months or even years. As a man from an era of information
explosion, he read and memorized various kinds of information in every waking moment. His mind could
keep the useful information and eliminate the meaningless ones by instinct.
As a result, all the memory fragments were swallowed up and reorganized, forming a strange new
world, his Dream World.
Unfortunately, he could not ask Zero to confirm this speculation.
She had lost all she had including her memories and turned into an innocent child in Dream World.
...
Chapter 641: The Door to the Fragment
Now he was responsible for raising the newborn.

Roland yawned while getting up from the bed. He noticed that the ladder that he had used for falling
was still laid on its side and that beyond the blinds, it was bright.
He had been wearing clothes when he fell from the ladder, and yet now he had nothing on but a pair of
boxers. "Was this caused by the inertia of the subconscious?" It seemed that every departure from the
Dream World would continue for some time until he fell asleep again, which would ensure that every
time he entered the dream, it would be the exact moment he woke up in the Dream World... "How
formalized was that?!"
He decided to depart the Dream World at midnight to see if he could eliminate the sleepwalking-like
unconscious behavior.
In addition, Roland also felt exhausted from the lack of sleep, totally unlike someone who had just
woken up. His eyes were bloodshot and dry, and his mind was fogged. He also could not stop yawning.
He had stayed up for more than 20 hours if he counted the time in the Dream World too.
Roland thought that maybe he had better catch some sleep in the afternoon.
Roland put on a short-sleeved shirt and walked into the living room where he saw the diminutive figure
again.
"You're up so early today?" Zero looked a bit surprised. "I haven't even started to make breakfast yet...
You wait here for a while. I'll go and prepare it now."
Obviously, Zero just got up as well. Her white long hair hanging disorderly over her shoulders with wisps
of hair sticking up, she looked completely different from the usual her who was neat and quick. She was
still wearing the pale blue dress with white stockings, which, if Roland was not mistaken, had been worn
for three days. Since Zero had kept her bedroom tidy, it must be definitely due to her shortage of
clothes to change into rather than laziness or insanitation.
Somehow, Roland felt quite bitter in his heart.
Not only for her, but also for himself.

Roland could not believe it when thinking of the 300... no, 250 yuan in his pocket. How could he, the
founder of the Dream World, and Zero, the trigger for the Dream World, descend to such a state? It
could not be more tragic.
Roland would not let the situation worsen, since money was necessary when he wanted to buy books or
explore this Dream World. He had to find a way to seek a stable income. 250 yuan could not even pay
for a taxi, let alone to pay food and utilities.
When Roland was absorbed in thought about how to make money, Zero had busied herself in the
kitchen.
She rapidly lit the fire to heat the pan before pouring in oil and heating it up. With a single hand, she
cracked an egg and splattered it into the pan. Although the pan was too heavy for her to shovel up and
down, she could just use a spatula to scramble the egg.
As the heated oil was sizzling in the pan, the tantalizing aroma of an omelet soon filled the living room.
Because of the limited cost of living, their breakfast had barely changed. Roland had two fried fritters
and a fried egg, just as usual, and Zero had only one fried fritter.
"Were these fritters bought yesterday?" Roland took a bite and found it no longer crisp.
"Of course." Zero grunted. "They were the last fritters in grocery store last night, so they were especially
cheap. Sometimes the owner would give me some of the raw flour dough from which I can simply make
several fritters on my own."
Roland was surprised and asked, "Did you do the same thing at your home?"
"Almost." The little girl shook her head, saying nothing more. She seemed unwilling to talk about her
family. After breakfast, she dressed up simply before carrying the bag and heading off to school. She
walked to the door and said, "Uncle, as usual, I'll be out until noon. You have to wash the dishes."
"Ah, just go. Take care!" Roland nodded.

Zero could not help but get startled. After a while, she said yes and went out.
Well, it was time to check and count his property.
He returned to his bedroom and checked every corner of the bedside cabinets and wardrobe, sorting
out all his belongings.
Firstly, it was the wallet that also contained an ID card and a credit card as well as the over 200 yuan. It
looked so shabby. Roland, of course, threw some expired lottery tickets straight into the trash can. Even
if those tickets drew prizes, they were overdue. Moreover, he simply did not believe anything with such
a small probability would fall on him.
Secondly, there was a cell phone that had a completely empty contact list except for the bank
information that showed him the cash flow in his card. Having read the message from the bank, Roland
noticed that Zero's parents would send 1,500 yuan to him at the end of each month. But now, four days
to the next remittance, there was only 20 yuan left in the card, which would be only enough to save him
from starvation. In this case, there was no way for him to do other things.
Finally, there were some pieces of jewelry seemingly made of gold, and yet Roland was not sure about
it. He wondered if they were prepared for marriage. If he sold them to a gold shop, Roland might earn
almost 1,000 yuan, which could be used for emergencies.
This was all his disposable wealth.
But it barely helped the current situation, Roland sighed. He then turned his eyes towards the
furnishings in the lumber-room.
He opened the door in the far end of the suite and looked at some old items in the room.
The iron bicycle and sewing machine, which was covered with dust and cobwebs, would presumably be
worth 30 to 40 yuan due to its material, especially the latter one which was extremely heavy and hard
for him to move alone. And the big iron door, which could count as scrap iron, might be worth over 100
yuan. These piddling amounts of money might seem of little importance in Roland's eyes at the usual
time, but they were quite precious to him now.
If he went to a secondhand bookstore to buy abandoned schoolbooks, over 100 yuan would be enough
to cover the used books of all subjects.
He made up his mind at the thought.
Roland remembered that there were small ads posted on the stairwell, which included the phone
number of a recycle station. But before selling them, he had to clean them up first.
Roland thought that maybe they would be worth more if he made them cleaner.
Gasping, he carried and dragged the bicycle and sewing machine to the living room, and then he found
something wrong.
The thick, big iron door did not seem to lean against the wall of the lumber-room, but was built into the
wall!
"Damn it. Which bastard did this? What's the meaning of making a door on this wall? It's the outer wall
of the apartment. Is it to make it more convenient for someone to commit suicide?"
"And there's also a lock hanging ridiculously on the door!"
"Wait..." It occurred to him that two keys were attached to his key ring.
Roland immediately went and fetched his keys which included the key to the main door. He put the
other key into the keyhole. Unexpectedly, they were well matched.
With a click, the rusty lock flicked open and fell from the bolt.
Roland did not bother to pick it up but just pulled the bolt and forcibly opened the iron door.
The cold wind tangled with the snow and stormed in. This made him, who wore a short-sleeved shirt
and a boxers tremble.
To his astonishment, there was a snow world behind the iron door.
He could dimly see a greige city surrounded by snow mountains that waved up and down far away. Built
along the walls on both sides of the crack in the mountain, the city was wrapped in a big breach. In the
center of the city, a towering building stood erect in the howling wind, like a pillar connecting to heaven.
Although it was the first time for him to see such scene, Roland immediately realized where it was.
"New Holy City, Hermes"
A stronghold city was built on the fractured area of the Impassable Mountain Range.
It was also a symbol that signified the mightiness and toughness of the church.
Chapter 642: First Exploration
"Bang!"
Roland fiercely shut the door and took a deep breath.

The Snow that adhered to him quickly melted into water.
Although he had long understood that dreams were variable, this scene still shocked him.
Roland walked to the window of the lumber-room and looked out to check the outer wall. The wall was
flat and neat without even a trace of being inlaid a door or repaired.
In other words, the door was inlaid into the wall while the apartment was "finished", rather than being
built in afterwards.
So... was the door only in room 0825, or in every flat?
If the door was also built into other flats, what kind of scene did they have and where did they lead to?
Roland felt excited about this idea.
He returned to his bedroom and rummaged through the wardrobe before slipping on a set of winter
clothes. The dilapidated coat he picked looked like it had lost most of its feathers and the wool in the
knitted scarf was forked, but since he did not have a better choice at this moment, he had to get
accustomed to them.
It was a hot summer day, after he put on the warm clothes, Roland felt he was surrounded by stoves,
sweating profusely, his body temperature soaring.
Once again he walked close to the iron door. He kicked off the flip-flops and replaced them with a pair of
green leather shoes before pushing open the door and stepping out.
The moment he entered the snow world, the cold wind howled through the gaps of his collar and cuffs
and drilled into his body. When the cold wind met the hot sweats on his skin, he felt extremely icy cold
and could not help sneezing.
"Wait, if I keep this door open, does it mean that I'll have an air conditioner that costs no power?"
Roland thought.
He wondered what Zero would think this scene.
Roland rubbed his nose and looked back. The door looked like it was connected with a basement that
was half buried in the slope. There were many similar low storehouses around this area which were
obviously built by farmers or merchants who lived outside the city. But Roland noticed that these
storehouses were unguarded, as if the entire campsite was abandoned.
However, what really marveled Roland was the scene that was hundreds of meters away from the slope.
He saw a clear boundary of this world.
As far as he could see, the snow slope was abruptly cut in the middle while spall floated in the mid-air as
if they had become weightless. Violent cyclones and endless darkness took place in that space.
Occasionally a bolt of scarlet lightning crackled through the sky, illuminating the border area, and even
so, the darkness stretched out beyond what he could see.
This scene was appalling but extraordinarily magnificent. If he could put words on it, it was like a lonely
island floating in the void. The boundary had spread along the mountain land until it disappeared in the
snowstorm. Undoubtedly, there must be another similar boundary on the other side of Holy City, but it
was too far away for him to see it now.
Was this the memory fragment that remained in Zero's mind?
Roland did not dare go near the boundary to see through it. Both the violent wind that ripped the spall
and the lightning that crackled the sky were dangers to him. He also did not immediately move towards
Holy City. Overlooking from here, he estimated that it would take him at least half an hour to reach the
city. It would take longer if he had to wade through the ankle-deep snow. He needed sufficient
preparation.
After that, Roland wandered through this suburban campsite.

He could not find anything alive, whether in half-buried storehouses, dwelling houses or tents. All of the
people just seemed as if they had vanished.
It was somewhat like the Soul Battlefield for him, nothing more than a stage built with memory.
Accordingly, Holy City should be unmanned as well.
Although there was no trace of life around, the storehouses were well filled, like a freeze-frame of the
memory from when it was spun off.
Those fresh grapes in Roland's hand would be an example to illustrate his point.
Roland found them in the small basement next door. The iron lock on the door could not stop him. He
simply twisted off the lock and the bolt with a wrench he found in the house. There was plenty of food
in it, like cured jerky, fillets, wheat, and even a small half-box of grapes.
The grapes looked very fresh. They must have been carried from the old Holy City beneath the plateau.
When Roland put one into his mouth, he could still taste its cool sweetness.
His biggest gain was a small iron box he had found in a hidden compartment in the basement. It was not
because of his careful searching but simply because it had opened when he entered the basement. An
oil lamp was lit beside it, as if someone abruptly vanished at the moment he was putting things into the
compartment. The compartment was left open, revealing the half-hidden iron box.
The box contained over 10 gold royals and several translucent gemstones that were clearly of high
quality. Roland pocketed all of them without hesitation.
After he confirmed the things in the memory fragment could be taken into his flat, he got busy at once.
After two hours of hard work in the snow ground, Roland moved anything valuable into his house. It
included lots of food and several armaments, such as armor, short swords, and crossbows. The former
would save on the expense of food while the latter might be worth some money if he sold them online.
Roland kept carrying things from the campsite into the lumber-room until the room was filled. After
that, he had no choice but to lock the door with reluctance.
He felt so good after picking up so many things for free.
He could not hold back laughing when he thought there was a whole Holy City for him to plunder.
The wealth of the whole city would probably make him rich overnight. Living expenses were absolutely
no problem for him now.
Roland was panting as he took off his clothes. When he was about to go and have some water, a turn of
sharp dizziness suddenly struck him.
"What's going on?" He stumbled towards the tea table. But before he made it, he felt his field of view
turn upside down, followed by a bang and then darkness took him.
...
When Roland woke up again, he found himself in his bedroom lying on the bed, aching all over as if he
had been through a marathon.
The night had enshrouded the city outside the blinds, indicating that he had been asleep for more than
one or two hours.
Roland thought that it was probably because of his overtiredness, as well as the heatstroke caused by
the alternate strike of coldness and heat. And that he probably should have caught some sleep before
his labor.
But to his surprise, he did not feel much feeble at this moment. Instead, he was full of energy and so he
disregarded the ache. It seemed as if a warm current was running through his body over and over again,
causing his sense of touch to be super acute.
That was when Roland sensed a faint breath near his pillow.
He turned his head slightly and found Zero who was leaning beside him.
She was holding a wet towel, half her cheeks illuminated by moonlight, her eyelashes trembling slightly,
her back moving up and down along with her breath.
Probably because the room was excessively sweltering, her dress was soaked and her arms covered with
fine beads of sweat, sending out a unique aroma.
Roland knew that it must be the little girl who dragged him from the living room into the bedroom.
Moreover, she tried the basic way to cool him down. He smacked his lips and could still taste the
residual of the patchouli liquid in his mouth.
"How did she manage to pour the liquid in?" thought Roland.
Roland shook his head with resignation at the sight of Zero who slept defenselessly. He got up quietly
and carried her to the bed. After that, he walked softly back to the living room. Zero who cared so much
about the tidiness of her bedroom must have been unwilling to go to her own bed before taking a bath.
He just simply left her on his bed.
Anyway, it was dirty enough.
Lying on the couch, he noticed that the ache was fading and that he could increasingly sense the warm
current in his body.
Roland realized that it was not an illusion.
But something hard to describe.
He dug into his trouser pocket for a gold royal that he had brought out from the memory fragment and
held it in his palm.
He willed the warm current to gather in his palm.
Roland clenched his fist, and when he unclenched it, the gold royal had been folded into a half-moon
shape.
Chapter 643: How to Make a Fortune
The next morning, Roland opened his eyes as the first ray of sunlight shone into the living room.
The fan had kept blowing hot air all night, and cicadas were shrilling their familiar songs outside the
window.
Now he had confirmed that the sleep in the Dream World would not get him back to reality, and Roland
thought that he could rest during sleep.
Although this may sound a bit weird... Who cares. It doesn't matter if it works.
Yawning, he got off of the couch. When he was about to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, he
heard Zero screaming in the bedroom.
After a moment, she appeared at the door, her face blushed. She pointed to Roland, stammering.
"Yesterday I... You..."
"I slept on the couch last night." Roland shrugged. "Please, you're sweaty and unwashed. I would
certainly not sleep with you."
The little girl pulled her collar to take a sniff and then she blushed even more like a ripe apple
contrasting with her long white hair. In a flurry, she ran back to her bedroom, fiddled for a while, and
rushed into the bathroom with clean clothes.
Soon came the sound of showering from the bathroom.
By the time she came out, Roland had finished preparing breakfast.
Today's breakfast was much heartier than the usual ones. Fried bacon, salt pepper egg, roasted dried
fish, and a plate of fresh grapes.
Of course, they were all made of what he had taken from Holy City behind the iron door.
"You bought meat?" Zero asked in surprise, her hair wrapped in a wet towel. Roland could see her
throat slightly stirring, apparently swallowing.
"Yeah, I bought a lot and put it all in the fridge." Roland handed her a pair of chopsticks. "I found a new
job."
"Did you?" she asked suddenly with an excited voice, seemingly forgetting what had just happened.
"Yeah, I'll get paid soon." Roland laughed. "These were bought for celebration."
The little girl was relieved. "I thought you finally crossed your bottom line and did something
irreparable."
"What does she mean by 'something irreparable'?" he thought inwardly, "Did she really think I would
steal or rob? Uh... Robbery doesn't seem a big deal in the Dream World."
"So the reason that you had heatstroke was due to staying out in the sun too long looking for a job
yesterday?"
" Probably..." he said as he threw a grape into his mouth, "In short, there's no need to worry about
money anymore."
"You're so weak," Zero curled her upper lip and said, "When will I be able to stop worrying about you?"
Roland was almost choked by grapes as Zero said that. He retorted. "You make me feel like you've been
worrying about me all the time."
"Uh..." This reduced her to silence. After a while, she glared at Roland. "You've really wasted ingredients
when cooking breakfast. You added salt to the salty bacon!"
"She seems really good at changing the topic," Roland thought as he picked up a slice of bacon and place
it into his mouth. "I think it's quite good except some corners of it were not well fried."
"You should leave it to me in the future." Zero complained, but she quickly gulped down the food on the
dishes. Then she took her bag and was about to leave. "You just leave the dishes there. When I come
back, and I'll wash them together with dishes for dinner."
"Wait," Roland stopped her and asked, "Is there a secondhand bookstore nearby? Do you know where it
is?"
...
This time he had stayed in the Dream World for three days before detaching from it. When he woke up
in Neverwinter, the sun had risen high in the sky.
It seemed the speed of time in the Dream World was eight times faster than here, which meant a night
in Real Word would count as two days in the Dream World. Moreover, if he delayed his departure until
the third day, others would just think he woke up late in the morning.
The first thing Roland wanted to do after getting up was to find a gold royal and clench it.
It turned out that the gold royal did not change even a little bit, but his fingers ached.
Roland sighed at the fact that the inexplicable power seemed to only exist in the Dream World as
expected. He put the gold royal back to his pocket, slipped on a coat and sat at his desk.
Roland intended to copy out the key knowledge he had reviewed in the Dream World while his memory
was still clear. It included the missing parts from every basic subject, as well as detailed designs for some
large industrial equipment.
He had made the best of the last three days in the Dream Word. Selling those goods he stole from the
campsite behind the door went quite well. He found a local second-hand goods forum where he posted
the armor pictures and claimed that he had a number of imitated medieval crafts to sell at low prices.
Before long, some buyers who were attracted by its absurdly low price and exquisite craftwork started
to contact him.
In the end, armor, 500 yuan each suit, crossbows and daggers, 100 yuan each, were all sold out. The
prices were incredibly low in the eye of others, but since Roland did not pay the cost of these goods, he
was not distressed when selling them. However, he did not expect that gold royals would be much more
difficult to sell. Even if he kneaded them all into round shape, the bank still would not accept the gold
that was not traded in a formal way, whether it was gold bars or gold jewelry.
Roland could not manage to sell them to a gold shop nearby either, where they only accepted the
accessories they had sold and the customers also had to pay an additional fee. A salesman was kind
enough to give him an address of an old pawnbroker that accepted unidentified gold at half the market
price. When thinking that he had only a dozen gold royals with a texture far from solid gold, Roland
simply threw them all into his wardrobe.
He might as well move more suits of armor out of the campsite instead of wasting time on selling gold.
Meanwhile, Roland had no idea of where to sell three glittering gemstones. In the end, he just left them
unsold.
With money in hand, he immediately swept through the secondhand bookstore near the apartment,
buying all the textbooks he had ever read. Those he had not read were completely blank except for the
covers. Obviously, the Dream World did not exceed his range of awareness, so it seemed impossible for
Anna to cover all fields now.
However, thanks to his wide range of hobbies, he had browsed a large amount of all kinds of knowledge
on the internet. And now he could get any detailed answers to any designs that he had ever run
through, even something he had only just glimpsed upon.
In addition to those that were essential to quickly boost the technology in City of Neverwinter, Roland
also bought two new sets of clothes for Zero, as well as a set of winter camping equipment for himself.
As a result, he spent all of the money that he had just earned.
Roland could still remember how shocked Zero was when she received the new clothes. She tried to
turn down the offer several times before accepting them, unlike any other girl of her age that should not
worry about so many things. Roland learned the reason for her behavior after he asked about it.
Strangely, this was the first time for Zero to receive a gift, which was something she dared not crave, as
her parents beat her at home.
As the creator of the Dream World, Roland felt a strange sense of guilt.
Roland had been busy until noon when Nightingale quietly showed up in the room.
"Didn't you go down to have breakfast?"
"Yeah," Rowland said without looking up, "please fetch lunch for me. I'll eat it in my bedroom."
"Is that what you've been doing all morning?" Nightingale said as she surprisedly weighed the stack of
papers at the desk, "How did you come up with so many ideas in such a short amount of time?"
"They've always been in my mind. I just forgot them temporarily." Roland rotated his wrist. "Take a look.
What do you think?"
"Describe the electromagnetic field in... a certain volume... mathematical model using the form of...
integral?" Nightingale put her hand to her forehead and said, "Your Majesty, I felt a little dizzy. I'll go and
bring your lunch first."
Roland could not help but smirk before saying, "Go then."
"By the way, don't you have to go to the office today?" she turned to look at him and asked when she
reached the door.
"Why?"
"Barov has business with you. He said there were two letters for you to read personally."
Chapter 644: Diplomacy in the New Era
...
After lunch, Roland summoned Barov into the bedroom.
Barov, the Director of City Hall, who came to Roland's bedroom for the first time, seemed more cautious
than usual but looked very excited.
Seeing his behavior, Roland could not help thinking of a story that a celebrity in history ran out to
receive his subjects with his clothes in disarray, which considerably touched the visitors. It felt like his
lazy behavior unexpectedly aroused a strong feeling of trust in his Director of City Hall and he had not
intended it to.
He had to say that male official had a unique advantage in loyalty. For example, he could talk with him
overnight, share one bed with him, and so on. But if it was Edith Kant, those things would be regarded
as gossip.
Roland smiled and shook his head, setting aside those distracting thoughts. "How many letters have you
received during the time I fought and slipped into a coma in the Northern Region?"
"A total of 16." Barov quickly reported. "Most of them are from lords of various domains asking for trade
or visiting, and two confidential letters are from the Eastern Region asking for a peace negotiation. I've
answered them all as you've required."
They had concluded the arrangements in a council meeting before the war. When the king led the army
and marched on war, Barov would temporarily deal with the administrative affairs of Neverwinter in the
king's absence. He would be responsible for reading all letters that were sent to the king. And the letters
which were of particular importance and beyond Barov's power to answer would be sent to the
battlefront by carrier pigeon.
"Just for a peace negotiation?"
"Yes... They're unwilling to surrender the right of enfeoffment. Moreover, they advise you to keep the
tradition and honor of nobility."
"Next spring, those people will naturally know what kind of choice they should make." Roland shrugged.
"Where are the letters for my attention? Where are they from?"
"One came from Astrology Association of the city of Dawn, the other from the Kingdom of Dawn," Barov
said, handing over two sheets of paper, "They arrived in the moment you were in a deep slumber, and it
tells something that is a bit... weird."
"Weird?"
Roland first spread out the parchment with the constellation pattern on it.
It was written by Astrologer of Dispersion Star. He had spent the first half page on greetings and
gratitude. The astronomical telescopes Roland had sent to observatory had been put into use. Certainly,
they should thank him for that, Roland thought, but the rest of the letter numbed him for a while.
"They've tracked the Star of Extinction in the sky?"
"A star that was sparkling red and was located in a permanent place?"
The first thing that came to Roland's mind was a synchronous orbit.
Judging from his poor knowledge of astronomy, he knew that only objects that traveled on a
synchronous orbit could remain relatively still with the planet.
"If Bloody Moon appeared on this orbit, it would definitely influence the planet. Plus the observation
also showed that its size should be extremely small."
"So Bloody Moon was not a natural celestial body, but a man-made satellite?"
After thinking for a moment, Roland denied his speculation. "If it was a satellite, how could it be
descending to Earth?" According to Agatha's view, the moment Bloody Moon showed up, the entire
continent would witness it. It was greater and brighter than the moon, and its scarlet light dyed the
walls of Holy City bloody red. Even on a bright day, one could see its outline.
"It made no sense."
He was silent for a while before putting the letter aside. "Write a letter. Invite the astrologers to come to
Neverwinter."
"But they rejected you last time," Barov said with hesitation, "I'm afraid this time..."
"Things have changed. Now that the Astrology Association has found the star they want to pursue,
they'll just observe the sky where the star is located," Roland tapped the table and said, "You told them
in the letter that Neverwinter has developed a better astronomical telescope and found some ancient
books about the Star of Extinction. I believe they'll come."
"Yes."
He spread out the second piece of paper, or a slip of paper as he would call it. As per usual, a message
delivered by a carrier pigeon was always very concise.
"The King of Dawn died, and his eldest son Appen Moya succeeded the throne."
"He ordered the elimination of believers of the church, cut off the trade route to the Holy City and has
begun to hunt down witches."
"As a result, a rebellion broke out on the border that affected our caravan."
"The original plan may temporarily be suspended."
Roland could not help frowning. He knew that it was normal for Barov, who was unclear about what the
church had done to the Kingdom of Dawn, to be confused. After Isabella and others retreated, the King
of Dawn would sooner or later die of a lack of pills. He just did not expect that Appen would hate the
church so much that he even involved witches.
Of the policies Appen had given, eliminating believers seemed reasonable. But the unilateral ban on
trade basically cut off the source of wealth for border lords. The church must be behind the rebellion.
Yet, hunting down witches was something that absolutely went against Roland's interests.
An order of such impulsion could not be drawn from the ideas of the three powerful Families. The only
possible explanation was that the new king had lost his mind when seeking revenge for his father.
Roland had thought that the Kingdom of Dawn would be a potential ally, but this fact had disappointed
him.
"Send a formal diplomatic letter to Appen," Roland said slowly, "First of all, it's to congratulate him for
his coronation, and then warn him to stop hunting down witches. A pure witch isn't the same as a
common witch and Graycastle has established a formal witch organization. Anyone who treats them as
enemies will be against the Kingdom of Graycastle."
"Uh... Your Majesty." Barov wiped the sweat away from his forehead. "Are you sure you want to put
those words in the letter?"
"Are there any questions?"
"He won't take it seriously. He may think you're threatening him."
Roland was very clear that sometimes even the feudatories under the local lords would not follow the
king's order, let alone foreign kingdoms. But the era had changed. If the kingdom did not understand
diplomacy, he did not mind teaching them what it really was.
"I'm threatening him," he answered nakedly, "If Appen Moya insists on his way, I may as well support a
new king of the Kingdom of Dawn next year when we conquer Holy City, a wise king who'll fight with
Graycastle against the Battle of Divine Will. Andrea of House Quinn will be a good choice."
Diplomacy in the new era would be built on steel firearms. Anything he failed to earn on the negotiating
table would be taken by force. To deal with other kingdoms, intervening in their internal affairs,
changing heirs, supporting oppositions, and directly stationing the troops into their lands would be
common ways. Roland did not want any other kingdoms to stand in his way before Bloody Moon came.
Therefore, the core of this diplomatic letter meant to show "Don't say that I didn't warn you."
"I, I got it," Barov Mons answered with a complex look in his eyes. He was astonished, excited, and
undisguisedly awed... He bent down deeply and said, "I'll send your will to the Kingdom of Dawn."

Chapter 645: Farewell and Promise
Finally, Roland could not stay in his bedroom all day and he had to go to the office.
It was almost dusk when Nightingale informed him that Tilly wanted to meet him.
Roland had to put on a coat, comb his long hair, and take a pile of writing papers to the office. He
opened the door and found that Tilly and Ashes were there waiting for him.
Seeing Roland holding heavy stuff, Ashes immediately took the thick stack of papers. This left Roland
feeling quite surprised as he never expected that Ashes, who had always been dissatisfied with him,
would help him one day.
The sunset pierced through a French window, dying the walls orange-red. At the same time, it also left a
ray of gold on them. All of this somewhat gave them a sense of parting.
Roland had already guessed Tilly's intention.
Though Roland did not want them to leave, he knew that this day finally would come. Besides, it was
very sincere of them not to leave when he was in a coma.
"I'm here to say goodbye to you," Tilly said calmly, "I have to go back to Sleeping Island to resolve the
Bloodfang Association issues."
Roland stared at Tilly's dainty face and eyes which reflected the sunset. After a while of silence, Roland
said, "I see. When does the Charming Beauty arrive in the western region? I'll make a farewell dinner for
you. Wait a moment..." He was suddenly stunned and asked, "You mean that you'll come back?"
Ashes could not help but cover her mouth.

Tilly directly chuckled and asked humorously, "Well, won't you welcome me? Brother."
"No, I mean... Why do you..." Roland opened his mouth in surprise but had nothing to say. After a while,
he asked, "Is it because of the Months of Demons?"
"Could it not be for something else?" Tilly stretched her hands and said, "Don't you have higher
expectations for me?"
He was completely astonished.
"Will you..."
"Yes, what you thought is right." Tilly outspokenly said, "I'll take the news to Sleeping Island that you
won the battle against the church. I'll also tell them they needn't live a troubling life and hide on the
small island any longer, because the church has completely lost control of City of Neverwinter of
Graycastle in the western region. When you're ready, I shall bring the witches who would like to come to
the western region to settle down here. At that time, I hope you won't to complain that they eat too
much."
Roland's heart was filled with indescribable excitement as he said, "They're welcome in the western
region at any time!"
"But your castle isn't big enough to accommodate so many witches. If only half of them would like to
come, the number is still several times bigger than that of the Witch Union. What's more, most of them
aren't combat witches. I'm planning to hire ships to deliver them when the Months of Demons are over,
for the routes are much safer at that time." Princess Tilly revealed a sly grin.
He promised without any hesitation. "There wouldn't be any problems, for Karl will build enough
accommodation before the next spring."
Tilly stretched out three fingers and said, "In addition, I hope that you can promise me three extra
conditions, brother."
Tilly was so serious that Roland subconsciously sat upright. "Go ahead."
"Firstly, you can't constrain them if they want to leave City of Neverwinter for other towns."
"No problem," he replied instantly, "but at the moment, the Kingdom of Graycastle isn't unified and I
can't guarantee that people in other domains will treat witches equally. Thus, for the sake of safety, I
advise them to just settle in the western region or upon Sleeping Island temporarily. It won't be late for
them to leave the western region by the time I'm able to control the entire kingdom."
"It's just a hypothesis." Tilly nodded with satisfaction and continued, "Secondly, you can't force them to
work for you if they aren't willing to."
Roland poured two cups of tea for them and said, "Can I allure them to work for me?"
Tilly gave him an affirming look and said, "It's okay if you don't use forcible methods."
"Deal." He could not help smiling.
Since they were busy seeking shelters after basically awakening, it was quite easy for Roland to make
those naive little girls plunge themselves into the waves of industrialization. He had a massive rewarding
mechanism to absorb them. Except for salaries, it would be attractive enough for them to work for him
if he set the rule that only working witches had the rights to enjoy scented soaps, delicious wine, and ice
cream.
Capital sugarcoated-bullets were far more compelling than pure violence.
"Lastly, I hope that Sleeping Spell can exist independently." When speaking of this point, Tilly appeared
to be somewhat hesitant because she thought that this condition was a little harsh. "Of course, I'll hand
over a part of the money earned by Sleeping Spell to City of Neverwinter."
"The Sleeping Spell?" Roland was in a daze. He remembered that this bounty organization was formed
to resolve the conflicts between combat witches and assistant witches while making profits for Sleeping
Island. In other words, almost all of the witches on the island belonged to the Sleeping Spell. If the
organization became independent, it meant that Tilly got the control of all witches in it.
He soon realized why Princess Tilly had been hesitant to say the words. If the Sleeping Spell settled
down here as an independently self-administrative organization, it was the Sleeping Spell that would still
decide to accept bounty missions or dispatch witches to the Fjords. So what Tilly had asked for looked
like she was taking precautions against him.
However, Roland agreed instantly. "Of course it can. Though only if they abide by the internal laws of
the western region."
"Isn't the Sleeping Spell like a private company?" Roland thought.
Actually speaking, the minute he realized that the witches on Sleeping Island would settle down here, he
had mixed feelings of joys and worries, not knowing whether he should conscript them into the Witch
Union or not.
As one of the three major administrative agencies along with City Hall and the First Army, the Witch
Union must be controlled by Wendy who was loyal to him, so that he could rest assured. But there were
too many witches on Sleeping Island. Once all of them joined the Witch Union, Wendy's control would
be abated and it would be less righteous for him to intervene and manage at that time.
But if they did not join the Witch Union, he did not want to seem callous towards those witches. As
such, with Tilly's condition, Roland now felt relieved. In addition, it was normal for Tilly to feel a little
worried, for trust itself needed time to build. Tilly gave more trust to him than before, which was huge
progress.
"Really?" Tilly felt somewhat surprised at his quick answer.
"Don't worry. I always keep my word." Roland smiled.
"Well..." Tilly now felt relaxed, saying, "Then I shall go back to my bedroom to pack my stuff. The
Charming Beauty will arrive in three days. Except for the combat witches who followed me, I'll take Iffy
and Softfeathers with me. Once the Bloodfang Association issues are resolved, I'll send them back."
"You won't come back until the Months of Demons are over?"
"You've asked me whether it was because of the Months of Demons, and I've also said that I don't deny
that." She blinked her eyes.
"That means you'll come back in advance?" Roland asked her closely.
Tilly nodded and said, "Just like last year, brother. I'll fight with you against demonic beasts until the
heavy snow stops."
Chapter 646: Hotpot
...
When the two were about to leave, Ashes, who walked behind Princess Tilly, suddenly stopped and
turned around to say, "Your Majesty, I owe you an apology."
This was the first time that Ashes had used polite words when talking to Roland. "Well. As for those
episodes happening in the palace, I'm very..." Roland explained to Ashes.
Ashes shook her head and said, "We all know that he isn't you. He can neither lead us to defeat the
church nor offer enough freedom and trust to us witches. I didn't believe this until you defeated the
church and I'm very sorry for that." She paused and continued, "Each witch will remember what you've
done, and you're more qualified to be Lady Tilly's brother than him."
If Ashes said such words, these would also be Tilly's thoughts. They did not believe that he was Prince
Roland. Roland did not know whether to laugh or cry. Was this some kind of recognition?
Staring at his smiling sister behind Ashes, he abruptly realized something.

The Extraordinary covered her chest with the right hand and slightly bent. Her black ponytail hung down
upon her shoulders and her golden eyes were like the shining stars in the evening.
"Envoy Ashes salutes you, Your Majesty."
***************
Three days later, the farewell dinner which Andrea had long waited for finally arrived.
What she had awaited was not the farewell but the new delicious food His Majesty promised.
Since the last farewell, she had always remembered that there had been more delicious food than just
ice cream. So Andrea had expected to taste it this time. But the battle against the church was of great
significance and so she was reluctant to suggest it. But now, she could have a taste.
The dinner was not held in the castle but in the expanded castle backyard.
Through a long corridor formed by olives and entering the center of the backyard, Andrea smelled a
thick scent before seeing any food. "Was it crystal fish from the Everwinter's glacier? Or was it flavored
egg from the Wolfheart's cliff? Or was it the rainbow trout from the Fjords that's known for its delicious
taste. No, no, no! I haven't smelled anything that bears a scent so tempting before. No matter how rare
the material is, it can't make such delicious food."
"I'm suddenly hungry." Shavi shouted.
"Have you always led such a life in the western region?" Molly licked her lips and said, "What an
enviable life!"
Breeze embraced Lotus and Evelyn together and then explained to Molly. "I haven't had many chances
to enjoy it. It's them you should envy."
Candle explained. "This kind of dinner isn't held every day and the dessert is only served every three
days."
"Only served every three days..." Molly held her forehead and said, "Why do I feel like you're showing
off."
"No, I'm not."
Ashes took a glimpse of Andrea, though she could not control her saliva either, she said, "Hey, don't
drool out."
If it was at an ordinary time, Andrea would have sneered back, but now her attention was completely
drawn to round stumps at the side of the backyard.
They appeared to grow out of the ground at the first sight. The tree trunk was so thick and sturdy that as
many as seven or eight people could encircle it. The hot air coming out its inside made it look like
something was burning.
When she walked closer, she found that the tree trunk had been hollowed out. A huge iron pot was
erected on top of the stumps and the thick scent was coming out from it was soup.
In addition, there were various different foods on the short table beside the trunk. They were various
but common at the dining table. What made her more confused was that the food was raw.
This was the first time that Andrea had seen such a kind of dinner. There were no attendants, no white
cloth, no music and no crowds of people. Each one sat around the stumps in a circle. It looked like that
they had to do it by themselves.
What Andrea thought was true. After all of the witches arrived, Roland clapped his hands to indicate
that the dinner had begun. He explained to all of the witches, "This is a hotpot dinner. It's very easy to
eat, simply put all the food you like into the pot and enjoy it when it's cooked."
Fall was the best season to enjoy hotpots. As a very popular cooking method, it was quite easy to make
a hotpot. Even the simplest vegetables could take delicious. The most important thing was that hotpots
were very down-to-earth. Eaters would gather together to enjoy fine food from the same pot.
Therefore, they were much easier to promote relationships among people than traditional banquets. As
a farewell dinner, hotpots could reduce people's sadness and depression.
A hotpot's essence lay in its soup stock. In this age, cooking methods were largely monotonous. Usually,
one ingredient had only one taste and people had to pay more attention to the quality of materials
themselves. Roland had ordered chefs to mix various ingredients that had distinguished flavors and put
them in a pot before to cook them. They included whole chickens, porcine bones, bird beak Mushrooms,
seafood, spice and so on. So the soup stock was very rich in taste, a taste that could not be made by only
cooking one or two raw materials.
It was Leaf who made the hotpot table that had a style of nature. She had cast the power of Heart of
Forest to make the plants grow quickly. At her will, they had become what Roland had asked for without
any extra transformations. They were covered inside with a thermal insulation coating. Even if the spirit
lamps were lit, they would not set the tables on fire. Instead, the temperature of the inner walls would
spread gradually over to the entire stumps. If they put their hands on a tabletop, they would feel a
lukewarm heat.
As Andrea put some cooked meat into her mouth, she could not help but hum because of the strong and
rich flavor.
As tens of delicious food materials assailed her tongue and the hot soup flowed down her throat into
her stomach, Andrea could not stop eating, though this feeling was totally different from ice cream
bread.
According to the table manner of the nobles, they should not take new food until they had finished the
food upon their plates. However, they could not keep that manner with the hotpots created by His
Majesty, otherwise, they would have nothing left after finishing their food.
The other witches on the table were no longer elegant. In other words, a hotpot had nothing to do with
elegance. There were even several plates of delicious food in front of Lady Tilly. Even Ashes had picked
up food several times from the plates in front of her.
Ashes imitated Andrea's tone and said, "'The essence of food lies in its original flavor. Without
seasoning, the boiled soup can be closer to the original flavor.' Who has said these words? In my
memories, someone considered salt and spices a barbaric way of cooking and said that real nobles will
never use them to cook, but today, what I've seen is different from what she said."
If it was before, Andrea might argue with her. But now, she had realized what was the most important
thing.
It was more important to enjoy the hotpot than play words with Ashes.
She lightly glimpsed at Ashes. Without hesitation, she pushed Ashes' spoon away and scooped a piece of
floating meat into her bowl.
This time, Andrea ate contently.
Reinforcement
Show TL Note
"It's over here," Glacia said as she pointed to the map of the Redlis kingdom Howard had brought over,
"This is a small valley in the Cloudsnap Mountains located 50 kilometers from Greatsnow Mountain. His
Highness had us scale across the Cloudsnap Mountains to make it back to the Andinaq kingdom so we
could gather our forces and start over. The six thousand men following us were our most loyal and elite.
"After leaving Frederika using the secret path, we crossed a small stream to cover our tracks. We
traveled about half a day from the river and turned towards the Cloudsnap Mountains when we were
about 50 kilometers away from Frederika. On the way there, we passed through a dense forest where
we took a short rest. His Highness wouldn't let us rest there for long, though. He wanted us to find a
better spot so we could rest for a few months before we attempted the crossing after the winter. He
wanted us to pass over Cloudmist Swamp before it thawed and head for the kingdom from there.
"We were surprised to discover from a map we obtained in the palace in Frederika that the valley near
Greatsnow Mountain was actually a noble's dominion, specifically, Baron Krimando's. We later found
out that the baron had never shown up at the royal court before, which explains why almost nobody
knew of him.
"His Highness decided that Baron Krimando's dominion would be the best place for us to rest. As long as
we had someone defend the valley's entrance and prevent anybody from getting in or out, nobody
would discover what was going on inside. We headed for the valley and conquered the small castle near
it in a night assault. Once we occupied the castle, His Highness instructed someone to advise Baron
Krimando to surrender. Bowen Ketty volunteered and marched over proudly to carry out the task.
Nobody expected his decapitated head would be hung above the walls of the baron's castle a few
minutes later."
Lorist knew the name 'Bowen Ketty'. He was one of the second highness' trusted knights and one of the
Five Tigers. Lorist never thought he would be killed as a messenger calling for surrender.
"We were almost driven crazy by anger," Glacia continued with teary eyes, "No sane noble would do
something as egregious as murdering a messenger! His Highness instantly ordered us to continue
pressing our attack and avenge Knight Bowen. After two months of bloody battles passed, we incurred
more than five thousand casualties; even Knight Sisreid died on the walls. Of the 13 gold-ranked knights
that left Frederika with His Highness, only I, Ripleid, and Karitoke were left. One of the two blademasters
protecting His Highness also perished. The other was heavily injured..."
Lorist's eyes brightened.
"Karitoke's still alive?" asked he.
Karitoke was one of Dawn Academy's alumni who had traveled with Lorist to The Northlands. But
midway there, he had been poached by the second highness and became a knight of the royal family. It
was a shame that of the 26 silver-ranked knights from Dawn Academy that joined the second highness's
banner, only Karitoke and Sander remained. Lorist was more than glad to hear that his old friend
survived.
Even though Glacia nodded, tears still fell nonstop from her eyes, perhaps because of the horrible result
of the battle.
"Let me guess... Is Baron Krimando the first prince? Has he been hiding in the valley all along?" asked
Lorist.
Glacia shook her head at first but nodded after.
"When we finally breached the castle, we got to know from our captives that the baron was actually the
first prince's illegitimate son.
"The valley was the last resort the first prince left for himself should he ever require it. Within the valley
were three thousand of the first prince's most elite troops. He had been hiding within ever since he
escaped from Frederika and watched as the nobles of Redlis kingdom struggled against us, waiting for
the opportunity to strike and rebuild his kingdom. I bet he didn't think he'd have to use his trump card
early to deal with us, who were about to lock him within his little dominion.
"We killed and killed. His Highness almost broke down as well. We never dreamt of clashing head-on
against the first prince there and casualties piled up on both sides. In a fit of rage, His Highness ordered
us to kill all the captives and citizens we came across. After all, they were the enemy's families. His
Highness also managed to behead the first prince and his illegitimate son personally before he coughed
up blood and fainted.
"The six thousand men were His Highness's best. If we were able to bring them back to the Andinaq
kingdom, we would have been able to regain control easily. But most of them were incapacitated after
the battle, only around two thousand were still alive with varying degrees of injury. By the time His
Highness recovered, we received word that the situation was beyond saving. If we returned to the
kingdom, our only fate would have been death. That's why we had no choice but to disguise ourselves
and head to The Northlands to seek you out for help. We hope that House Norton will be able to aid His
Highness in restoring his rightful position on the throne."
Is this first prince finally dead? The one who started the civil war by raising the banner of rebellion was
the first prince, and now, both he and the second prince have died by the second highness' hands...
Wait, is he the real main character of this story here?!
Lorist breathed a long sigh.
"Glacia, you've been by His Highness's side for almost 20 years now. Did he treat you well, now that
you've been his lover for all this time?"
Glacia's face flushed.
"This... Well, he said that he'd marry me after he reunites the empire..."
"Will you be the empress or a mere concubine?"
"What's... what's the difference? I'm fine as long as I'm by His Highness's side."
"Glacia, you're three years older than me. You're not that young anymore. If it were the House Norton
of the past, His Highness taking you as his concubine would be a sign of acknowledging all you have
done for being his lover all these years. However, given House Norton's current might, if His Highness
does the same, it would be a slight on the name Norton. Don't forget that the blood of the Nortons
flows in your veins. The only way this would be accepted is if His Highness doesn't take someone else as
an official wife and names you his first concubine.
"I'm not saying this for no reason, Glacia. Did you notice that His Highness is incredibly wary of our
house's might? He was already like this when he was still the 'second highness'. Despite that, he used
the northbound convoy to wipe out the kingdom's nobles that refused to abide by his will. He forced us
to pay a price we had not been willing to.
"A ruler should always be fair and just. Has the second highness? He's always been throwing empty
promises at us, tempting us with nothing to back it up. Glacia, did House Norton ever harm His Highness
in any way? During the time of the northbound convoy, we were almost doomed by him. He poached so
many knights from us and how many of them are still alive now? And don't forget what happened at
Kobo. We conquered the city and provided him with so much food to solve the hunger crisis of his army.
All we wanted in return was that he held the city long enough to buy time for the convoy and the
refugees.
"What did he do? Glacia, did you know that His Highness had his army destroy the heavily fortified wall
before leaving? He tried to make the convoy bait to attract the attention of our enemies! Even though
we helped him out so much, he thrust a blade up our backs instead. It was from that time onwards that I
no longer believed in His Highness's character.
"And even though he had already enfeoffed Silowas to the house, he allowed his tax collection official,
that annoying viscount, to run rampant without any care at all. He even pretended not to know about
the noble descendants that forcefully occupied Seaview Manor. Do you think he really didn't know?
When I killed that stupid viscount, his brother sent a division of soldiers and attempted to kill me. Do
you think His Highness wasn't aware of it either? I don't believe it. He's pretending all the way while he
looks for a way to beat us into submission so we do his bidding.
"I'm sick of all this, Glacia. Did you forget how our four houses defeated the second prince jointly and
formed an alliance? That year, I wrote you a letter to tell you about the matter. Perhaps you might've
forgotten about it, but do you think the second highness has? His proposition was to make me Duke of
The Northlands so that the Norton house can have full control over the province. Do you know what
would happen if news of this got out?
"He's intentionally sabotaging the relationship we have with our allies. Currently, House Norton is the
leader of the four houses of The Northlands. Think about it, if they hear about His Highness's offer to
me, wouldn't they think I'm coming for them next? Even at a time like this when he needs my help the
most, he tries to find a way to cause trouble for me. He wants to see us fight till we're nothing but
shambles before coming in to sweep up the benefits!"
"No, Locke, you must be misunderstanding His Highness!" Glacia tried to explain, swinging her arms,
"There are many things His Highness doesn't know about! Back then, His Highness told me that it wasn't
that he didn't want to help you out at Kobo. His Highness simply didn't have enough troops to do so!
That's why he instructed the dismantling of the defense walls after seeing your group leave safely. The
one who instructed it was Bowen Ketty, the person in charge of the division at the time, and he did so
out of concern for His Highness's safety! He ended up being scolded harshly when he returned. I was
there to witness it! His Highness knew that he had accidentally wronged the house...
"As for the matter of Silowas, His Highness really didn't know about it. You should know well that His
Highness was busy gathering his troops and preparing to reunite the empire. It's only natural for him to
not concern himself with small matters like that. The tax official, Viscount Aslan, really didn't have
anything to do with His Highness! And His Highness didn't fail to exterminate House Aslan and revoke
their title after he heard how Count Aslan set out with his soldiers to pursue you!"
"Whatever, those matters are already history," Lorist replied, shaking his head, "There's no point talking
about it now. So, Glacia, are you here because His Highness wanted you to find out my thoughts?"
"Yes. His Highness is afraid you still hold misunderstandings about him, so he had me come over and ask
what you wanted in return for your aid. As long as it's within reason, he will agree to all your requests,"
acknowledged Glacia.
"Tsk-tsk, just look, Glacia. Even at a desperate time like this, His Highness is still holding back. Can't you
see? This is His Highness being overly cautious of our house again. I'd like to ask him what he can offer
us instead. Tell him to spare us the empty promises."
"Locke, your attitude is a little uncalled for! Don't forget His Highness is your senior noble! A vassal like
you should maintain respect and reverence for him!" said Glacia angrily.
"Fine, fine, Glacia. Just go back and tell His Highness that House Norton will not be able to deploy our
troops. However, we can provide 100 thousand gold Fordes and equipment for a legion of soldiers.
Naturally, I'm talking about the compensation His Highness gave the convoy for eliminating the
disobedient nobles of the kingdom: the equipment of the Whitelion Legion. We still have 72 thousand
sets, all of which I can give him. That should be more than enough to fulfill a vassal's due and duty," said
Lorist, a little frustrated.
The equipment of the Whitelion Legion was taking up quite a bit of warehouse space. Given that House
Norton already had far better Sid steel armor, they no longer had any use for the outdated equipment.
As the Whitelion Legion was one of the many symbols of the Krissen Empire, their equipment ought not
to be sold away so easily. To Lorist, it was something he could do without. The fact that it was made up
of alloyed metal also made it far more troublesome to simply melt down in the refinery. It was a far
better choice to return the equipment to the second highness and save him the trouble of having to
deploy troops to help the second highness restore his throne at the cost of Norton lives.
"Lo-locke... Are you really willing to give the Whitelion Legion's equipment to His Highness?" Glacia
started.
Glacia never thought Lorist would offer such a thing. After all, each set of Whitelion Legion armor cost
70 gold Fordes to manufacture, so 72 thousand sets were worth roughly five million gold Fordes! Giving
such a thing away without asking for anything in return meant nobody could question Lorist's loyalty
and due assistance to his senior noble.
"Yes," said Lorist.

All that junk has been gathering dust and using up precious space. Supervisor Spiel has asked me
multiple times to deal with it already.
"Then, we'll have to draft our soldiers from the dominion as well," added Glacia.
"No way!" refused Lorist.
How dare you even suggest that? You have no right!
"You can recruit soldiers if you want, but you cannot use House Norton's name for your cause. We have
our own policies when it comes to enlistment, and even His Highness cannot force our subjects to die
for his cause!"
No noble had any right to draft soldiers from another's dominion. To any landed noble, their subjects
were their source of wealth. If it was an open recruitment, however, no noble could interfere. After all,
those who enlisted would essentially be work for hire, and private transactions were not within the
jurisdiction of the local house.
"Fine, normal recruitment will do. However, you have to give us the 100 thousand gold Fordes you
promised and can't intentionally do anything that will sabotage our call to arms. Lastly, the soldiers we
recruited will be fed and sustained by House Norton while they are in The Northlands. Will that do?"
pushed Glacia further.
She thought things couldn't possibly get any better. with 100 thousand gold Fordes in hand and the
equipment of the Whitelion Legion, the second highness would definitely be able to recruit 70 thousand
soldiers. All he had to do was pay each household one gold Forde as pension and people would be
flocking to join his army. It was the same tactic the second highness had used to gather his 300 thousand
soldiers."
"Fine, whatever you say," Lorist smiled coldly, "I believe you just can't wait to go back to report this to
His Highness. I'm sure he'll be more than glad to hear it."
Seeing Glacia leave happily, Howard, who had been standing next to Lorist the whole time, asked in a
worried manner, "Milord, aren't you worried that trouble will stir up in the dominion? As if giving His
Highness equipment was not enough, you also allowed him to recruit soldiers here."
"I'd like to see how many soldiers he can recruit," Lorist laughed, "Naturally, if there are people who
want to join the cause, we'll send their family members away to the army camp along with them and
revoke their rights to homes and farmland. Since they want to serve the second highness, he will have to
be responsible for their well being. I definitely won't allow them to take advantage of my house."
"Indeed, Milord, You couldn't be more correct," said Howard before he joined in with the laughter.
Negotiations
Show TL Note
"Milord, you have erred," said Charade solemnly.
He had rushed straight to Maplewoods from Firmrock Castle the night before.
Lorist hadn't met the second highness even once since he promised to provide him with 100 thousand
gold Fordes and the Whitelion Legion's equipment. The latter had brought his men with him hurriedly to
Felicitas' seven towns to start recruiting soldiers. Lorist, on the other hand, lazed around at Maplewoods
for a couple of days. But, when news reached Firmrock Castle, Charade could no longer sit still.
Lorist, who was in the middle of teasing his second son, raised his head with surprise.
"What did I do wrong?"
Charade remained silent and continued staring.
"Come on, let's talk in the study on the second floor," said Lorist as he passed his son to Irina.
In the study, Lorist opened a bottle of fruit wine and poured a cup for Charade and another for himself.
Charade downed his in one gulp, breathed a long sigh, before handing his cloak to Howard and saying,
"One more cup."
He sat on the sofa and said with his eyes fixed on Lorist, "Locke, do you not know what you've done
wrong?"
Lorist raised his brow as he refilled the cup
"I really don't know," answered he.
"You shouldn't have given the Whitelion Legion's equipment to the second highness," said Charade.
"Oh, but Supervisor Spiel has long been prompting me to get rid of them. Not only are they heavy and
space-consuming, their defensive capabilities pale in comparison to the armor we developed. It can't be
sold either, given what he Whitelion Legion symbolizes. That's why I chose to give them to the second
highness so our house no longer has to help him restore the kingdom."
"Sigh, Locke, you still don't understand? I didn't say it was wrong for you to give the equipment. The act
of giving wasn't the problem. Your mistake was that you gave it away like you were returning it. Other
things aside, even though the 72 thousand sets of gear are not much use to us, we can still sell them to
House Fisablen or the four central duchies for 5 million gold Fordes. Your giving them away is like tossing
that amount of money down the drain. And did the second highness express any gratitude for your
generosity? No! nothing! He just rushed to Felicitas to start recruiting his soldiers! He's a chronic ingrate
to the end!"
Charade had never held a good impression of the second highness and felt he was an underhanded
person who tried to act just and fair. The convoy Charade had led had almost been cornered thanks to
the second highness' antics. Had it not been for Lorist's timely aid, the consequences would have been
unimaginable. Not only that, the second highness had used the opportunity when the convoy was in dire
straits to poach 26 members who were Dawn Academy alumni. They were all silver-ranked knights when
they joined the second highness, but it didn't take one year for a good number of them to be killed off in
battle, much to the dismay and pain of Charade and the other household knights who were also from
Dawn Academy.
Lorist smiled bitterly.
"I'm sorry, Charade. It's my fault. I only wanted to shoo them off as quickly as I could so they can't cause
trouble. The following two years will be crucial for us, what with House Kenmays and House Shazin's
dominion relocation, as well as our attack on the Madras duchy.
"I really don't have the energy to play the second highness's game right now, so I thought I could just
give him whatever I had on hand so he would leave."
"Locke, you're wrong to think of the second highness as a dog. If you give a dog a bone, it will shake its
tail happily at you. However, the second highness is a wolf. Not only will he not be thankful, he will see
our dominion as a ripe piece of juicy meat that's just begging to be bitten," said Charade without the
slightest care for the Auguslo's status.
He was worried the fallen monarch would once again cause an uproar within the dominion.
"I don't think you did wrong by giving him Whitelion Legion's equipment since it's not worth that much
anyway. What I have a problem with is how you've just promised to give it away without much thought.
Ideally, you should've given him the equipment in small batches while you negotiate for the things we
need from him. But now, we won't be able to get anything in return!
"Another point I don't really understand is why you've agreed to let them recruit soldiers from our
dominion so easily. With money, equipment, and an abundance of people to recruit from, it's only a
matter of time until he comes for us. I believe we should send the second highness away as soon as
possible so it doesn't come to that."
Lorist laughed heartily before he took a drink.

"Charade, I admit that it was my mistake to give him the equipment so easily. I should've done what you
said. However, you are looking at the matter of recruitment the wrong way. Believe me, the second
highness definitely won't be able to recruit many people from Felicitas. Hahaha..."
"Why?" Charade asked, "The second highness is the Andinaq kingdom's former king, and the citizens at
Felicitas are mostly refugees from his kingdom. They have a high opinion of the second highness and will
definitely answer his call if given the chance. Also, that king of ours will definitely make tons of empty
promises to seduce the foolish to become fodder."
"Haha," Lorist laughed loudly before, "Charade, you've been put in charge of administrative matters for
far too long. Perhaps you've forgotten our house's enlistment policies. Our subjects have to go to the
new recruit camp when they are 16 to awaken their battleforce, and those that can't must return home
to work as farmers. The process will repeat once every three months until they're 20 and those that
manage to have their battleforce awakened can join our forces. Being our household soldier is one of
the most desired vocations in the dominion, and those that serve long enough might even be promoted
to the ranks of the police brigades or the garrison forces.
"Take, for example, the recently formed Jaeger Legion. The unit has already recruited most of the
people in the dominion eligible for military service. Tigersoar and Firmrock have had many of their
members transferred over as well, so they've had to run recruitment drives of their own to fill the void.
Many people from the town garrisons and local defense brigades have also been recruited, so they'll
have to start recruiting as well. As for those who don't qualify to become a member of our forces, they
have their own jobs to do at the factories to feed their families. Given the situation, do you think the
second highness will succeed in his recruitment?
"I heard he's going to use one gold Forde as payment to the families of the soldiers he recruits. When I
heard he was going to recruit more than 70 thousand at once, I almost laughed so hard all my teeth fell
out. He didn't even consider the fact that each person in our dominion will be able to earn two to three
gold Fordes for a year's hard work and still thinks he can pay for a human life with one gold Forde. Hehe,
Charade, the second highness will not be able to recruit any soldiers here. It's already been four days
since his departure and he only has around 143! Hahaha..."
Charade breathed a sigh of relief and downed the rest of his wine again.
"I truly have forgotten our policies. Well, that settles that. As long as the second highness is unable to
recruit soldiers, there isn't much he can do with the equipment he got. Then again, Locke, you should be
careful not to let the second highness use us again like he did with the convoy."
"Don't worry. I've already had Tarkel and Furybear go all out and monitor each and every one of their
moves. Oh, and you came here just in time. I was about to head to the warzone at the Metropoulos
River's lower bank to see Potterfang. I'll need you to deal with the matter of the second highness. I feel
like I didn't offer them enough hospitality..."
A loud commotion rang out on the lower floor, causing Howard to look out of the window.
"Milord, the second highness and Lady Glacia are here and they seem rather mad."
It didn't take long for the study's door to be pushed open. The second highness wore a displeased look
while Glacia seemed completely fuming.
"Locke, what do you think you're doing?! Didn't you say you wouldn't get in the way of our
recruitment?! Why did you do all that?!"
"What did I do? Can you be more specific?" asked Lorist curiously.
"After we recruited some soldiers, your men sent their family members to our army camp as well!
What's your intention? Your men even said that since the ones recruited have chosen to serve the king,
House Norton will no longer be responsible for feeding their family members, and it falls to us to take
care for them! Tell me, did you order this?" roared Glacia angrily.
"Can you tell me where the soldiers you recruited worked originally?" asked Lorist coldly.
"Well..." Glacia found herself speechless all of a sudden.
"This, Brother Locke, the soldiers we recruited were only a little hot-headed and wanted to serve the
kingdom in whatever capacity they can. It's something worthy of praise, we shouldn't trouble the family
members," said the second highness hurriedly.
"Is that so? Are you saying that House Norton hasn't done enough already? Don't forget we just paid
you 100 thousand gold Fordes and gave you Whitelion Legion's equipment. This alone equates to six
million gold Fordes' worth of support. If this doesn't count, then what does? I doubt anyone in the
history of Grindia has ever made such a huge donation before, yet we didn't even get a word of thanks
in return," said Charade insidiously.
A trace of seething anger flashed past the second highness's subdued expression, but it only lasted an
instant.
"Oh, Knight Charade, it's been so long since we last met. Congratulations on becoming a gold-ranked
knight."
Charade puffed out the badge on his chest.
"That's nothing to be surprised about. Anyone can do this much with proper training. Your Highness,
why haven't you responded to the aid the house has given you over these few days? Are you still not
satisfied with what we've done?"
Charade's point struck the heart of the matter mercilessly. Normally speaking, a senior noble must
formally respond to the aid offered by a vassal. It could be in the form of a letter of gratitude that stated
what the vassal contributed. In some cases where vassals sent their own troops to participate in a senior
noble's campaign, the senior noble had to offer some more land along with a rank promotion or some
other form of reward as compensation.
Lorist's contribution to the second highness could already be considered one of the biggest donations
ever made in the history of Grindia, yet the second highness didn't respond in any way even after a few
days had passed. Hence Charade's lack of hesitation to hammer home the point.
"Your Highness, at the very least, a letter of gratitude is due. We've already sunk in a legion's worth of
gear, and we don't expect much in return apart from acknowledgment of our contribution. Or, is it
because Your Highness feels that our contribution doesn't even merit your gratitude?" pressured
Charade.
"Hehe, apologies," the second highness said after taking a deep breath and wearing a pleasant facade, "I
formally express my gratitude to Brother Locke and House Norton for giving aid to a fallen king such as
myself. As a simple letter of gratitude wasn't sufficient to express my heartfelt thanks, I had intended to
leave the acknowledgment for a formal banquet I would host at the imperial capital. That's why I was
busy trying my best to make preparations to take back my kingdom. Only then can I raise your peerage
and give you the compensation you deserve. However, since you're in such a hurry, I can give you my
reply right now."
The second highness nodded to Lorist and said, "Brother Locke, I hope you won't mind if I use your
desk."
Without waiting for Lorist's reply, he sat down of his own accord before he started scribbling on two
beastskin documents. After that, he removed his ring and sealed the documents with his wax seal near
the place where he signed.
"Are you satisfied now, Knight Charade?" asked the second highness sarcastically as he handed the two
documents over, intentionally avoiding Lorist.
Charade looked at Lorist only to see him shake his head slightly. Charade proceeded to read the two
documents aloud.
The first was the letter of gratitude for Lorist and House Norton's contributions as well as his hopes that
they would continue to contribute to the kingdom. It was no different from the average gratitude letter.
After reading out loud, Charade complained, "Your Highness, I feel that you should've stated clearly in
what manner House Norton contributed to you. This is something that'll enter the annals of Grindian
history as one of the largest donations ever made, so it won't do to lightly pass it over like that. Well,
since you didn't bother to write it down, we will make our own records of the matter in our household
chronicles."
The second letter was a letter of promotion. As the senior noble of House Norton, and the person who
bore the legacy of the Krissen Empire, the second highness officially promoted Norton Lorist to the
position of Duke of The Northlands. All nobles within The Northlands would have to submit to House
Norton, and any who were displeased were free to bear arms in objection.
Heh, this guy's still trying to give me trouble. It's a shame he doesn't know about the dominion
relocation of the three other houses. With this letter in hand, House Norton will be able to rule The
Northlands without contest, thought Lorist, smiling coldly.
"Thank you for the promotion, Your Highness. House Norton is ever so thankful," said Lorist with a
salute.
He didn't even hesitate to express his gratitude when it was due.
"Well, it's what you deserve, my friend. Also, let's talk about the matter of soldier recruitment," said the
second highness.
A knocking on the door could be heard before Howard entered with two letters in hand.
Lorist saw the blue markings on the letters and smiled coldly. "Your Highness, Glacia, is this how you
repay my trust?"
Lorist waved the letters in his hand and continued, "While I did allow you to recruit soldiers from the
dominion, I never said you could poach the members of the police brigades and garrison forces. They
are also considered part of the Norton forces. Your Highness, how do you explain your actions?"
Glacia argued, "Locke, we didn't actively seek them out. It was they who wanted to serve His Highness
and contribute to the kingdom of their own accord. Surely, you can't stop them from wanting to do
service to the kingdom."
"Since that's the case, what were you so angry about just now?" Lorist nodded, "On what grounds
should we take care of their family if they no longer serve the house? You should know their homes and
farmland are theirs to use solely because one of their family members are part of the Nortons' military
forces. Now that they've abandoned their status as a Norton household soldier, they naturally relinquish
the benefits they've enjoyed so far. You can't expect us to continue to care for someone who turned
their backs on us, can you? Also, I didn't do anything to stop them from pledging allegiance to you."
"This..." The second highness wore a bitter smile.
Not only did most of the 400 thousand or so citizens of Felicitas not want to enlist, they only managed to
recruit a hundred or so mercenaries and wanderers after four days of effort. It was completely unlike
what happened in the Redlis kingdom, where people flocked to be enlisted in the military. The second
highness had only reached out to the garrison soldiers and factory guards out of desperation, but he
didn't think that he would stir up so much trouble after only recruiting a dozen of them. The sight of the
family members being sent to their camp was even more unbearable: they had clamored and
complained as they chased down their family members who had just been recruited, as well as cursed
the second highness and the rest for tricking them to give their lives away.
But, where would I recruit soldiers if not here? It was almost guaranteed for him to be attacked the
moment he showed his face anywhere else. To the second highness, his enemies lurked everywhere
apart from The Northlands. He no longer had anywhere to go. Since he was unable to recruit many
soldiers in the Norton dominion, his best option was to have House Norton deploy soldiers on his behalf.
However, they had already offered up so many contributions. It was no longer a feasible option.
Lorist didn't care about the second highness and Glacia's angered looks.
He opened the second letter and put it down immediately before he said, "Your Highness, I have to
apologize for not being able to host your stay any longer. I have to rush to the frontlines. Knight Charade
will be in charge during my absence. If you need anything, seek him out and he will see that you're
tended to."
"What? Is House Norton at war with someone?" asked the second highness, surprised.
"No, Your Highness. It's our allies, House Kenmays and House Shazin. The two houses are invading the
Madras duchy, and, being their allies, we have to send our soldiers to aid them in their assault. This is
the least we can do as allies."
"You're attacking the Madras duchy?!" said the second highness with a start, before he snapped out of
his stupor, "Brother Locke, would you mind if I followed you there for a look?"
Conditions
Show TL Note
In the end, the second highness insisted that he follow Lorist to the war zone.
"Your Highness," Lorist said, "even though House Kenmays and House Shazin are our allies, they are still
considered nobles of the Iblia kingdom. Given the hostile situation between them and the Andinaq
kingdom, I am rather worried for your safety. I think it's best if you don't head to the frontlines."
The second highness patted on Lorist's shoulder with a smile.
"No worries. With Brother Locke around, I don't have to worry for my safety. As for Baron Shazin and
Count Kenmays, since they're your allies, I believe they wouldn't be interested in a kingdom's former
monarch like me. Also, I'm only going there to take a look, not to meddle in military affairs. I believe I
will be treated well as a fellow knight there to observe the tide of war."
And so, Lorist had no choice but to bring the second highness along.
Four days later, Lorist and company crossed the floating bridge that stretched across Metropoulos River
and arrived at the borders of the Madras duchy.
The Northlands's army was situated not far from the river's crossing point. After destroying the enemy
fortifications and routing their troops, Count Kenmays and Baron Shazin ordered their troops to a
mound nearby instead of having them press their attack into the duchy. They set up camp where Baron
Silas' castle once stood. The baron had been hung some years earlier. The troops fortified their camp so
heavily that it seemed they intended to stay there for quite a while.
Lorist had received a letter from Count Kenmays five days ago, stating that the army wouldn't press their
assault and instead cooped up at the castle ruins atop the mound. As Lorist predicted, the Madras
duchy's nobles' private forces, as well as the duchy's main force, seemed to have run completely amok,
savagely attacking the allied army's camp. Those hectic times lasted for more than ten days until the
Madras forces lost more than five thousand men from their assaults. They finally halted their attacks
and sent a messenger to the enemy's camp.
"Locke, your plan to stand our ground instead of attack truly is marvelous! Hennard himself said if we
had continued to advance, we would've been attacked by the private armies and the duchy's main force.
It would no doubt have multiplied our casualties. All we had to do was occupy this area and defend it to
crush their counterattack attempts without breaking a sweat! Umm, who is he?"
When Count Kenmays saw Lorist, he began to boast about how effective the latter's strategy had been,
until he saw the smiling second highness whose eyes were gleaming with excitement.
Lorist briefly introduced the two, causing Kenmays to act rather awkward, given that he was a noble of
the Iblia kingdom and the king of the enemy kingdom was right in front of him. However, the second
highness was only a former king and had also come as a fellow knight to observe the battles, so
Kenmays didn't intend to do anything about his presence.
The second highness, on the other hand, acted very amiably to the count, first praising the Kenmays
house for running the largest construction guilds back during the time of the empire, expressing what a
shame he thought it was for them to have pledged allegiance to the Iblia kingdom, as well as mention
how much he admired the count's talent. In just ten minutes, the second highness and Kenmays were
already close to the point they decked shoulders like long lost brothers and chatted happily without end.
When they arrived at the tent, Shazin Hennard had also just returned. After Lorist introduced the second
highness to the baron, the second highness expressed his friendly and familiar attitude once more.
However, Shazin didn't really trust the display and maintained a formal and polite demeanor.
The reason Lorist had to rush over was that of the matter of the messenger. At first, Kenmays only
demanded the trade routes through the duchy be restored and for the allowance of crossing through
Metropoulos River with low taxes for merchant convoys. He didn't think the messenger would return
quickly after being sent back with an agreement to all of the count's requests. Since it had already been
achieved, there would no longer be a reason for their troops to stay. In essence, they would have to
withdraw their forces once more and the war would end.
Not knowing what he should do, the count wrote to Lorist while he tried to delay the duchy as best he
could. After hearing about the count's explanation, Lorist laughed.
"Don't care about them. We just have to mind our own business. For now, we must make sure this camp
has enough resources to winter here. If you have time on your hands, sweep some of the local nobles'
castles or demand they pay a tribute for the war. Only attack them if they don't comply."
"What if their messenger comes to object to our actions?" asked Kenmays.
"Simple. Who was the cause of this war in the first place? It's none other than the arrow outposts
situated at the duchy's defensive line that not only forbade passage through the river but also sunk two
of Hennard's fishing boats. We must have the duchy pay for their mistakes as well as make up our
military expenses. Just make ridiculous demands, if they want to bargain or negotiate, make sure to drag
them on for as long as possible. All we have to do is maintain the status quo until winter is over. We
must also have the duke himself sign on our agreement and not some nobody who claims to be able to
accept the conditions on behalf of the duchy. Only then will we withdraw our forces."
Kenmays was overjoyed to the point that he slapped his thigh.
"That's right! Spending so much time in this military encampment has rusted my mind. I didn't even
think of such a simple solution and felt a little odd when I thought about how easy it was to defeat the
duchy. The moment I heard their agreement to our conditions, I thought we had lucked out, but I almost
ended up tricked by them. I can almost be sure the duchy's folks won't acknowledge the agreement
after we withdraw our forces and deploy their troops at the bank of the river once more."
"All we have to do if that's the case is launch another attack," said Hennard confidently.
"Locke, if the duchy accepts the rest of our conditions, what do we do?" asked Kenmays after some
thought.
"Then we have no choice. If Duke Madras is willing to pay such a price, we will have to withdraw.
However, we can use the excuse of not trusting them to request for a plot of land near the riverbank to
garrison a division of troops two reasons. The first is to protect the bridge and the second is to ensure
safe passage for the merchant convoys from The Northlands," replied Lorist.
"Very well, we'll do just that. I'll tell the messenger that when he comes again. If they are able to abide
by our conditions and show the duchy's sincerity, we will agree to end the war."
Originally, the second highness only intended to watch their discussion with a smile. However, he felt
something was off the more he listened to the point he couldn't resist his urge to speak.
"Apologies for interrupting, Brother Locke, Count Kenmays, may I ask you the reason for this war?"
"Oh, Your Highness, it all started like this. Duke Madras sealed off the crossing point at the river and
even sunk two of House Shazin's fishing boats. This attack was made in retaliation for the duchy's acts. If
Duke Madras agrees to no longer seal off the river and reopen the trade routes, allowing our merchant
convoys to conduct business within the duchy, we will end the war," answered Kenmays politely.
"Does that mean you're not willing to conquer the duchy and make it your own dominion? That would
achieve your goals as well, won't it?" asked the second highness curiously.
Kenmays rolled his eyes and looked at the second highness like he would an idiot.
"Your Highness, it's not that we don't want to occupy the duchy, the price we have to pay for it is far too
high. Even though we are able to pull it off, our goal is first and foremost the reopening of trade. Why
would we bother with conquering the duchy? We'd have to invest much more resources to develop the
place as well if we do, and we're not stupid enough to. As long as Duke Madras agrees to our conditions,
it won't hurt to end the war."
The second highness looked disappointed because he thought the reason the Nortons and their allies
attacked the duchy was to exterminate it instead of just giving it a small poke to re-establish trade. He
had thought that he could use the chaos that would result from the war to recruit the refugees into his
new Whitelion Legion so he could travel through the duchy to reclaim his throne. His dreams were
shattered without any mercy at all.
Seeing the second highness's disheartened look, Lorist tried to resist his urge to smile. He had already
known the true goal of the second highness for making this trip. While Lorist had his own plans for
occupying the duchy, he wouldn't let the second highness take advantage of it.
"Alright, let's get something to eat. Also, Hennard, please see that His Highness is settled down and
rested. We have traveled for quite a number of days, so let's rest after our meal and leave any talking to
tomorrow."
Even though it was wartime, with the spoiled and indulgent Kenmays around, the ad hoc banquet was
as plentiful as ever. However, the second highness appeared rather down for the most part and didn't
have much of an appetite. It didn't take long for him to leave for the room Hennard had prepared with
the excuse of feeling a little tipsy.
"Why did you bring him along? It was so awkward for me just now," complained Kenmays.
"I didn't have a choice either," Lorist shrugged, "He insisted on following, and I can't just refuse my
senior noble without good reason. Since he's no longer the king, there's nothing wrong with him coming
here as a noble knight."
"Didn't he disappear for quite a while? Why has he showed himself all of a sudden? Since you were
already a free noble, it must feel quite bad for your senior noble to pop up again all of a sudden," said
Hennard.
Lorist breathed a long sigh and told them about how the second highness managed to escape his
predicament, as well as what he requested of the Norton house.
"Hahahaha!" Kenmays and Hennard both laughed upon hearing how the second highness wasn't able to
recruit soldiers at the Norton dominion.
"You know, Locke, don't you think that ex-king of yours is rather useful? You can use him and his name
to send your troops to reclaim his kingdom. You can then install him as a puppet ruler. He can jump to
your will whilst you pull the strings from the shadows," said Hennard with a flash of inspiration.
Kenmays didn't hesitate to put a damper on the thought.

"Forget it, I'm sure you know of the ambitions that man has. He's always wanted to be the emperor that
reunites the empire. Controlling him is out of the question. What a mastermind requires is a cowardly
dog, not a wolf king that'll take a bite out of him at the first opportunity.
"Just look at how he treats Lorist. Not only did he use him while he called him Brother Locke, he's
actually rather guarded and fearful of House Norton's might. Now he got himself into this pool of
trouble, he still wants to rebuild his army and rely on himself to reclaim the throne instead of letting
Locke do the honors and agreeing to the terms of his house. That alone should be enough to show how
hard it is to control someone like him."
"I sent someone to have Ovidis hide his catapults before I came; the second highness won't learn of our
secret weapon. Make sure you order your subordinates to not leak it either. It's fine if the second
highness wants to see anything else. Since we're not in conflict at present, the frontlines are rather
peaceful. I'm sure they won't be able to hold on for a few more days. It'll be much easier for us when
they leave. All we have to do now is follow our original plan," said Lorist as he stood up and concluded
the banquet.
Lorist didn't feel like going to rest after a full meal. Since it was still the afternoon, he had Els bring him
two fishing rods from Kenmays's tent. He had just tasted some fresh whitefish from Metropoulos River
during the banquet and Kenmays didn't fail to boast about his fishing skills. Hennard, on the other hand,
said hatefully that when he was busy beating away the duchy's forces, Kenmays was fishing. However,
there was naught Hennard could do but complain, given how his favorite woman was the count's cousin.
After three hours of fishing, they got many different types of catch, all apart from whitefish. Seeing that
it was getting late, Lorist and Els rowed their fishing boat back to shore and returned to their camp.
The ruined castle on the mound had already been restored halfway. It was the center of operations for
the army as well as Hennard and Kenmays' temporary residence. It was arranged for Lorist to stay in a
building not far from the main castle. He ordered a couple of guards to deal with the catch as he climbed
the stairs to his room for a bath.
After Lorist entered the tub, a guard outside reported that Kenmays had come over, probably to invite
Lorist for dinner. Lorist didn't mind and let Kenmays into the room. Since they were both men, there
wasn't anything to be shy about.
Unexpectedly, Kenmays's first words were.
"Your king got me to chat with him for the whole afternoon. Do you know what he's up to?"
Surprised, Lorist asked, "What?"
"He promised to grant many of my wishes and drew a huge picture of what I would receive if I agreed to
pledge allegiance to him," Kenmays laughed, "He said he would elevate me to the status of a duke and
give our house a whole province."
"Do you trust his word?" asked Lorist, laughing.
Kenmays shook his head.
"Not really, but I can't say I'm not moved by his words."
"Why?"
"Locke, House Norton is a military-based noble house; it has centuries of history in the Krissen Empire.
We are not. House Kenmays only used to be the largest construction guild during the days of the
empire. We practically paid the second prince for our noble title, and that guy's a traitor to the empire.
Now that he's dead, Iblia's future is on a precipice of uncertainty. If the kingdom is exterminated,
nobody will be willing to acknowledge our peerage. The Andinaq royal family, on the other hand, has the
legacy of the Krissen Empire. That, is what the second highness symbolizes."
Pledging Allegiance
Show TL Note
Of The Northlands' four houses, the Nortons were the strongest in terms of might, the Kenmayses
second, the Felims third, and the Shazins last. And in terms of how established a house was, in terms of
legacy and inheritance, the name of the Roaring Raging Bear was well known across the former empire.
The Felims were known as the House of the Pegasus. Next was House Shazin. While they used to be a
vassal of the Duke of The Northlands and being only a small baron house, they had a three-generation
heritage stretching back a century.
House Kenmays, on the other hand, was relatively new. They had emerged from a mercantile
background just a couple of decades ago. It wasn't easy for them to gain the acknowledgment of the
other nobles, especially not so given that their house had only for two half-generations. Kenmays was
moved by the second highness' words for these reasons. House Kenmays had been in existence for far
too short a time and the second prince, who was the one that had given the house their peerage, was a
traitor who had already been put to death. Iblia was also on the brink of extinction, it was fated to be a
short-lived dynasty. The moment the kingdom was wiped off the map, who knew if there would still be
anyone that acknowledged the Kenmays name.
The second highness had adeptly noticed this weakness and was confident he could bring them under
his grasp, as he put forward an opportunity that would make them legitimate landed nobles. Kenmays
knew if the second highness rebuilt his army and swept across the empire, his house would have to face
extermination. Demotion of rank was not even up for negotiation. The best he could do was to give out
the wealth his house had gathered over the years in exchange for their lives. They would at best return
to being commoners, and not even the wealthy commoners they had been previously.
The second highness may only be a former king at present who didn't even have soldiers to his name,
with his throne occupied by his own niece, but he was still the rightful bearer of Krissen Empire's legacy.
If House Kenmays pledged allegiance to the second highness, they would be able to receive the
acknowledgement of the other landed nobles and the count would truly be accepted as a peer of the
realm.
"Did you agree to his proposition?" asked Lorist, seated within the tub.
"Not yet. I postponed by saying it was a huge matter for the house that merited serious consideration.
I'll give him an answer within the next two days. I came to look for you immediately after seeing him
off," said Kenmays.
"Apart from your pledge of allegiance, what demands did he make of you in exchange for becoming a
duke and being given a province?"
"He wanted me to encourage you guys to press the attack," Kenmays shrugged, "He'll make me a duke
the moment the duchy ceases to exist. However, I did warn him that we wouldn't be able to
exterminate the duchy without House Norton's aid. Given the combined might of House Kenmays and
House Shazin, we would be able to defeat our enemies. But exterminating the whole duchy would be a
rather big stretch."
Lorist furrowed his brow in thought while Kenmays stood near the tub, patiently waiting for a response.
As the water within the tub cooled, Lorist finally raised his head.
"Perhaps, this will be a great opportunity for all four houses. We can use this chance to swallow the
whole Madras duchy. Here's what you have to do: put the second highness off for two days before you
say this to him..."
......
During the past two days, Baron Shazin Hennard brought his troops to raid the nearby nobles' manors
and returned with plentiful resources. Delamock still lived up to its name of being the largest food
producer of the former empire. Hennard managed to raid four manors during the two days and gained
enough food to feed the army's 100 thousand soldiers for the whole winter.
The second highness felt like he was on vacation. As Hennard had gone pillaging, or put more
eloquently: 'gathering resources', the second highness wasn't able to work on his relationship with the
baron. Kenmays didn't want to meet with him for some reason, so the second highness was unable to
press him for a response. As for Lorist, he was busy fishing with his guards on the Metropoulos River as if
he didn't care about the ongoing war at all.
Even though the second highness was well cared for in the camp, his freedom was severely restricted.
Whenever he attempted to leave, there would be a really polite guard who would remind him of his
status as an observing noble knight and of how he wasn't allowed to leave the campgrounds for no good
reason to avoid causing trouble for its owners. The reasoning behind it was that even though the
Northlander troops were only having a small skirmish with the Madras duchy's forces, if the second
highness's presence was discovered, the consequences would be severe and the war would turn out
really differently.
For the sake of his greater goals, the second highness resisted the urge to leave. He didn't want to be
treated like an unwelcome personage by the army, especially during a time when he could take House
Kenmays under his wing. So, he could only waltz around the camp with his attendants and drool at
House Kenmays and House Shazin's pristine armor and fantasize about them destroying his enemies
under his command.
There were roughly 36 thousand Shazin troops, 46 thousand Kenmays troops, and 12 thousand Norton
troops in the camp, bringing the total near 100 thousand men. Apart from the raiding excursions Baron
Shazin and his gold-ranked knight, Tabik, conducted, the rest of the troops that were not involved in
patrolling or training were assigned miscellaneous tasks, such as chopping firewood, repairing the lodges
to prepare for winter, fishing, hunting, and herding the livestock they had brought along.
The army looked completely unprofessional in the eyes of the second highness. He felt soldiers should
only be concerned with war and spared the need to do the work of servants. If he had been in
command, he would've swept half of Delamock already. And after gaining territory with such an elite
force, he was confident he would be able to defeat Duke Madras. He would make sure the duke stayed
cooped up in his lair in Sidgler while he made his way to the imperial capital.
The second highness's patience was finally rewarded when Count Kenmays showed up in front of him
three days after the offer was made.
"Your Highness, House Kenmays is willing to pledge its allegiance to you and fight under your banner.
We beseech the light of the mighty Wargod shine upon our kingdom and bring Your Highness endless
victory," said Kenmays after he saluted respectfully.
The second highness was overjoyed when he heard the count's sincere reply. Now, he had yet another
mighty noble house loyal to him alongside House Norton. It greatly increased his confidence in achieving
his goals.
However, the second highness saw Kenmays's troubled look and asked out of curiosity, "What's wrong,
count? Is there something troubling you?"
Kenmays replied with a bitter smile, "Your Highness, even though I and my house had pledged you our
allegiance, we are unfortunately unable to fulfill your wishes. We won't be able to attack the duchy, nor
were we able to convince our ally to resume the offensive."
"Why is that? My fine count, my word to you is no light matter. I make an oath on my status as the ruler
to make you duke as long as you can exterminate the duchy. When I reunite the empire, you may freely
pick a province as your dominion."
Kenmays shook his head.
"Your Highness, you've misunderstood. If you want the duchy exterminated, all four houses have to
attack with full force. It is not possible to do so with only Baron Shazin's and my forces. Additionally,
Baron Shazin has zero interest in pitting his men against the duchy's forces. As for our house, my father
will definitely oppose the casualties likely to be incurred should we press on now."
The second highness asked with a trace of suspicion, "My Lord Count, I've seen your and Baron Shazon's
troops; they are very formidable. The near 100 thousand troops you have here are more than enough to
clear out Delamock. You stand a great chance at victory even if Duke Madras resists with all his might.
Why do you say you're unable to take the duchy?"
"Your Highness, perhaps you are uninformed about the current state of the duchy's forces. Actually, a
few years ago, after Duke Madras clashed with the second prince at Kobo, he armed his troops heavily.
Apart from the 48 thousand men of the Seamountain Legion, which he has stationed in Sidgler, there
are four defense legions that number up to 100 thousand men defending the seven citadels in
Sanderson Hills. There are another 20 thousand men each at Nadegas, Kobo, and the river bank
respectively. In total, they easily have over 150 thousand troops. If the private forces of the various
nobles are factored in, there are another 60 thousand men at their disposal.
"If Baron Shazin and I press the attack with our two legions, we will quickly get entangled with the 100
plus thousand troops of the duke. If that happens, even if we end up victorious, our vitality will be
horribly sapped. Even if we win, Duke Madras can continue to rest and recover given his dominion's
abundant resources and population, while our houses will take up to ten years to recover.
"Your Highness, you should know that the Nortons have the most powerful military among our houses.
Even if all through of our houses were to assault them at the same time, they would still win. There's
also House Felim, which you might know as the House of the Pegasus. Baron Felim is the descendant of
that house and his light cavalry legion has only recently shocked the world with their prowess. In
contrast to those two houses, the troops of House Shazin are slow foot soldiers balanced in both attack
and defense. House Kenmays's troops focus more on defense, with offense our weakness.
"Your Highness, I truly apologize for not being able to conquer the duchy. Our attack will do nothing but
smash an egg against a rock. It is far from the rational thing to do. At present, the best I can do to show
my loyalty is provide you some funds. I truly am unable to conquer the duchy, unless all four houses act
in unison. Please forgive my incompetence," said Kenmays as he took out a thick stack of gold Forde bills
that amounted to roughly 100 thousand gold Fordes and placed it carefully on the table.
The second highness seemed a little sour after hearing the response. What Count Kenmays said
amounted to, 'I only pledged allegiance to you for the sake of officiating my house's title. If you want to
use us to fight the duchy, we won't be able to help you. House Kenmays is willing to provide monetary
support, but we definitely won't send our troops to the meat grinder for the sake of restoring your
throne.' Naturally, the second highness was doubtful of what Kenmays said of the duchy's forces, but he
was glad to have gleaned another piece of information that may prove useful to him.
"You mentioned the might of House Norton exceeds that of your three houses combined?" asked he.
"It does, Your Highness. The Nortons have two legions that number 120 thousand men. If you add their
garrison soldiers to the figure, they have 150 thousand troops. Our own house only has 55 thousand in
our legion, whereas House Felim's legion is made up of 46 thousand men, and House Shazin's numbers
42 thousand. The troops of the three houses combined don't even make up 150 thousand men. The
Nortons are naturally the strongest," expounded Kenmays.
He intentionally understated the actual number of Norton troops by omitting the 25 local defense
brigades in his count. As for three of the brigades that were present within the camp, he pretended to
have not noticed them, since the second highness didn't really grasp the organization of the Norton
forces anyway.
"Since that's the case, I have another question," the second highness began, "Since The Northlands is
already the four houses' domain, they no longer have to defend against other neighboring dominion
lords given how all four of your dominions are connected. If that's the case, why do they still maintain
such a huge military outfit? What are they planning? Aren't the three other houses, including yours,
worried about the Nortons' ambitions?"
Kenmays smiled when the second highness tried to put the Norton house in a bad light just like Lorist
said he would. He was trying to fracture the relationship between the allies.
"Your Highness, do you know why the four houses formed an alliance in the first place?" Kenmays asked,
"There are only two reasons. First, to set our sights on the Iblia kingdom. Second, to resist Duke Fisablen
and his cavalry legions."
"Set your sights on the Iblia kingdom? I can understand being wary of Duke Fisablen, but aren't the
other three houses nobles of the Iblia kingdom? Why would you target your own kingdom?" asked the
second highness interestedly.
"Your Highness, actually, after House Norton sent their troops to Windbury to capture the second
prince, we three noble houses have been isolated by the rest of the kingdom's nobles. It's more
appropriate to consider us nobles of The Northlands. The reason we're targeting the Iblia kingdom is
that we're doing it for Baron Felim. You should know the original dominion of the House of the Pegasus
is in Southern, and it's his dream to reclaim his ancestral land.
"However, Southern has already been made a wasteland from the conflict, and we'll have to conquer
Winston first to reach it. At present, Duke Fisablen's daughter, Iblia's queen, holds power within the
province. We will definitely be pitted against the duke if we attack it. Duke Fisablen was renowned as
one of the empire's three war gods and his Frontier Legion was one of the most impressive forces in The
Northlands. The reason all four houses are expanding our military so fervently is so we are prepared for
a conflict with the duke. It's also why House Norton maintains such a huge force."
"Ah, I see. Duke Fisablen, House of the Pegasus, and Baron Felim..." mumbled the second highness,
before inspiration flashed across his eyes, "Count Kenmays, if I am willing to make Baron Felim a count
and give Southern to him as a dominion, would he be willing to pledge allegiance to me as well?"
Kenmays wore a look of resentment as he thought, this second highness is shameless to the core! Even
though he doesn't have troops or power, he treats the empire like he owns it and promises land he
doesn't own to others! Hmph, it's easy for him to promise to make Baron Felim a count, but is Southern
even his territory in the first place? If Baron Felim pledges allegiance to him, he'd have to send his
troops to fight for Southern himself, with the only benefit being having a good excuse to do so, since the
Andinaq kingdom is at war with the Iblia kingdom.
The second highness hurriedly realized what he just did when he saw Kenmays's expression. "Naturally,
Lord Count, I won't forget your contributions as well. If you can convince Baron Felim to join my side,
feel free to state what you require."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Kenmays said as he saluted, "I won't hold back either. If we can eliminate
the duchy, I want Sidgler as the hereditary dominion of House Kenmays."
Lobbying
Show TL Note
As things played out, sending Count Kenmays to deal with the second highness was a brilliant plan.
Since Lorist was the second highness's vassal, he had to act respectfully and politely.
But faced with the suspicion the second highness held towards the house, Lorist would never bother to
do anything to placate the second highness or calm his fears. Not only was it a sign of his confidence, it
was also part of his pride. Whether the second highness be his former self that commanded 300
thousand troops or his current self -- no better than a failed noble -- Lorist maintained the same attitude
he always had.
Since you're so suspicious of me, I can't be bothered to deal with you. All I have to do is do the bare
minimum required of me.
Lorist thought the second highness wasn't one without talent. His reputation as one of the war gods on
Grindia was nothing to scoff at. First, he had used the northbound convoy to pacify the kingdom's
trouble-causing nobles. Thereafter he plotted to ruin the relationship between Duke Madras and the
second prince and caused them to be on hostile terms to the point that Duke Madras had to cede
Yungechandler.
On another front, the second highness schemed against the first prince and gradually chipped away his
enemy's forces, ultimately causing his foe to fall into his trap before he invaded the kingdom, forcing the
first prince to cede two southwestern provinces for a peace treaty. A few years later when war broke
out once more, the second highness crossed Cloudsnap Mountains to circumvent the iron-wall defenses
the first prince set up and managed to take over Frederika. It was a battle that greatly alarmed all on the
continent.
The second highness may be a brilliant commander, but the way Lorist saw it, he wasn't a good king.
While the second highness's governing policies weren't bad per se, he didn't have the wisdom or wit of a
king. Lorist believed the second highness was a grudge-holding, petty, stubborn, authoritarian, and
opportunistic man who always thought he knew best. Lorist could easily name a ton more faults the
second highness possessed.
The man's biggest problem was his self-importance. It was the reason Lorist wanted as little to do with
him as possible. He had no right to instruct Lorist to do this or that. He was glad a landed noble like him
could refuse unreasonable orders from his liege, unlike the knights that served the second highness --
who had to obey every single order without question.
Lorist's method was simple: do everything step by step and focus on building a firm foundation. It was
far better than the second highness's alpha-strike mentality that got him to gather a force of 300
thousand, only to end up with nothing after a devastating loss, having nowhere to return to apart from
The Northlands, resulting in him having to rely on Lorist once more.
When the second highness received the Whitelion Legion's equipment as well as 100 thousand gold
Fordes, it showed the relationship between the second highness and House Norton was nothing more
than one of a liege and his vassal. The second highness had baited House Norton with the same gear to
have their forces exterminate the obstacles that would stop him from gaining power. The equipment's
return signified Lorist desire to have nothing further to do with the Andinaq royal family, a sentiment
which the second highness undoubtedly noticed.
Kenmays, however, thought differently. Given the might of House Norton, Lorist could refuse any
unreasonable order from the second highness and the latter wasn't able to do anything about it apart
from smiling in a friendly manner. Kenmays was a person from a merchant family, so he had his
methods to make the second highness willingly jump into the hole dug for him. Even though the second
highness didn't always have his guard down, Kenmays still managed to fulfill his duty without issue. All
the while pretending to rally allies for the second highness through advising Baron Shazin and Baron
Felim. He encouraged the second highness to accept the two nobles' demands.
When Kenmays brought out his request for Sidgler to be made his dominion after the Madras duchy's
conquest, the second highness agreed because he felt Sidgler was a rather rural province that didn't
have much value apart from Platinum Beach, which was a famed vacation spot. And, given that the
province was in Duke Madras's hands, the second highness was more than happy to give it away to
instigate the fight between House Kenmays and the duchy since it would cost him nothing.
"How do intend to convince Baron Shazin to join us in our campaign, Your Highness?" asked the count.
"What if I make him a count?" asked the second highness after some thought.
"Your Highness, it won't do if you only promise empty titles to others," Kenmays said, shaking his head,
"You must come up with benefits that will actually move them to support your cause."
"What does Baron Shazin want?"
"This," Kenmays said as he pointed at the map of the Madras duchy, "He wants the land around
Sanderson Hills in Delamock."
"There? Why does he desire that?" asked the second highness, a little troubled.
The location was the border of Winston and wasn't like the rest of Delamock, rife with ripe farmlands. It
was rather odd for the baron to want such a place as his territory.
"Your Highness, you should know well that Baron Shazin is a man brought up in a military family. He
doesn't really understand what it means to manage a dominion. He's the one with the tightest finances
among all four houses. He frequently needs our aid. There are two silver mines and one copper mine in
Sanderson Hills. It would help alleviate his financial situation. It's far better than selling crops, which is
why he desires the area," explained Kenmays.
"But, I intend to use those mines to fill the national treasury," said the second highness hesitantly.
"Your Highness, Sanderson Hills is currently under the control of Duke Madras and there are seven
citadels there manned by a 40-thousand-man garrison. If you agree to the baron's request, he will attack
and conquer the area regardless of the cost. Your Highness can then levy a ten percent tax on the mines'
earnings. That's far better than sending your own elite troops to the grinder that is the seven citadels,
no?"
"You're right, Lord Count," the second highness conceded, "Tell Baron Shazin that I agree to his demand.
Apart from giving him that area, I will also make him a count."
"Your Highness truly is wise. We are really fortunate to have you as our king. I believe you will usher the
empire into a new era of prosperity."
It was something Lorist wouldn't be able to utter even if it killed him. Yet, Kenmays had managed to
deliver the line perfectly as if it came from the depths of his heart.
"Let's talk about what we need to do to convince Baron Felim next."
"Oh?"
Before the second highness's smile faded, his face turned into a look of bewilderment.
"Baron Felim? Didn't I already agree to promote him to the title of count and give him Southern as his
house's dominion? Is he not satisfied?"
Kenmays sighed deeply before he said in an annoyed tone, "Your Highness, don't tell me you forgot that
Southern is not under your control right now. The Iblia kingdom rules that area."
The second highness's face flushed.
"Even though it's currently part of the Iblia kingdom, when I return to the Andinaq kingdom and
reassume my throne, I will restart my plan to reunite the empire and conquer it. Southern will be my
land to rule."
"Time, Your Highness. What you need is time," Kenmays said forthrightly, "Your Highness can no longer
promise others apples before the apple tree produces any fruit. Nobody will know for sure whether the
apple will be sweet or sour. If you make that kind of offer as a king, others will regard you as a conniving
merchant -- quite a harsh blow to your reputation."
"Ugh..."
The second highness couldn't help but appreciate the truth in the count's words.
"Lord Count," he shrugged, "What you said may be true, but apart from promising others things I don't
currently have, what can I do? I'm more than ashamed of being a king so incompetent to fall to my
current state."
"Your Highness, please don't think of it this way. Even lions have times of weakness. Your experiences
are nothing short of legendary and the people of the future will no doubt sing your praises," Kenmays
praised, "Your Highness, what Baron Felim wants is simple. He is willing to pledge allegiance to you and
attack the duchy on your behalf. All he wants is your promise to back him up when he attacks Iblia to
take Southern. He will also need a legion of troops in Southern to defend against any attack by Duke
Fisablen."
"This..." mused the second highness as he fell into deep thought.
"Your Highness, are there any difficulties in doing so?"
"Lord Count, it's not that I don't want to agree to the baron's request, it's beyond my means," the
second highness laughed bitterly, "As you said, a king shouldn't make promises lightly. Even if I manage
to conquer the duchy with your cooperation, I can only form one Whitelion Legion and I have to use it to
fight my way to the imperial capital. Even if I do manage to take the kingdom back, I'll have to rebuild
the royal family's local defense legion to defend against the Union and the four central duchies. There's
no way I can send a legion to help Baron Felim take back Southern."
After the second highness gained some understanding of the duchy's military, he predicted the three
houses of Shazin, Kenmays, and Felim would be in shambles after engaging it. That was the reason he
wanted to use his Whitelion Legion to reclaim his kingdom right away without bothering to aid them.
He believed the kingdom's garrison soldiers would hear of his return and surrender and he would have
to reorganize his military to deal with the Union and the four central duchies after reclaiming his throne.
He couldn't be bothered to send a legion to aid Felim. Duke Fisablen wasn't a person that could be
angered lightly either. Sending a legion to fight with the duke's was sending them on a suicide mission.
"If Baron Felim is willing to wait a few years until I destroy the Union and the four central duchies, I'll
send troops to retake Southern for him. I hope you, Lord Count, will do your best to convince him to
endure for two more years for the sake of the greater good," said the second highness embarrassed.
He knew if the Union and the duchies were that easy to deal with, he wouldn't have ended up in his
current state.
Kenmays shook his head as he understood the second highness's intentions to use the light cavalry
legion of House Felim to conquer the duchy. After his goal was achieved, the issue of House Felim's
rightful dominion could be postponed.
"Your Highness, I really don't understand why you don't use any of the many easier methods at your
disposal. Why don't you just use the Nortons mighty forces?"
"House Norton?" The second highness sighed, "Lord Count, it's not that I don't want their aid. It's that
they're unwilling to give it."
"Unwilling? How so?"

"I've already made Lorist Duke of The Northlands in hopes that he would send his troops to retake my
throne. However, all he gave me is some equipment and money. He didn't bother to give me even a
single soldier," said the second highness with a hint of anger.
Come on, that's 100 thousand gold Fordes and the equipment of the Whitelion Legion, not just some
money and equipment. That alone should be worth three Duke of The Northlands titles, thought the
count.
With a smile, he said, "Your Highness, I believe the reason they're unwilling to deploy any troops is that
you didn't offer them anything they want. House Norton has been rather troubled over one issue."
"Oh? What is that?" asked the second highness curiously.
"Back when House Norton clashed with the second prince and won, their forces swept across The
Northlands and took care of all landed nobles apart from our three houses. Currently, there are 17 noble
houses living in Firmrock Castle. They are all the old nobles of the Krissen Empire that have some
relation with House Norton. But, given that The Northlands is already under our four houses' control,
Lorist has been wanting to give them replacement dominions."
"What did you say? House Norton actually dared to attack the old nobles of the Krissen Empire?"
exclaimed the second highness.
"Your Highness, don't forget that even though those landed noble houses stemmed from the Krissen
Empire, by the time the Nortons attacked, they were already nobles of the Iblia kingdom who have
pledged allegiance to the second prince," Kenmays sighed, "House Norton's actions are perfectly
justified. They have already shown mercy because they were once nobles of the empire."
"Oh, so that's the case," the second highness hurriedly said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I've forgotten.
What you mean to say is..."
Kenmays pointed to Delamock.

"Your Highness, if you agree to enfeoff land here to the nobles, I believe House Norton will help us. If
you can also let Lorist have Kobo and the rest of the remaining territory, I'm sure he will further Your
Highness's cause without any hesitation.
The second highness hurriedly shook his head.
"No way, Lorist is already Duke of The Northlands. House Norton has already been given the whole of
The Northlands, yet they want to stretch their hands into Delamock? That won't do."
"Your Highness, please consider your current position. Also, Delamock is Duke Madras's, not the
Andinaq kingdom's. If House Norton wishes to take over the area, they will be the ones to pay the price.
There is no free lunch in this world. Only through giving will you gain! You're only being asked to strike
the deal with the territory currently belonging to Duke Madras. In essence, you don't have to give away
anything of your own! Not only that, you can let the Nortons help you reclaim your throne! Are you
going to give up on this opportunity? Your Highness! Don't disappoint me!"
The second highness glared at Kenmays all of a sudden.
"Count Kenmays, why did you bother to come up with this? Was Lorist the one that had you come lobby
for him?"
"Your Highness, you truly are a person with a suspicious nature," Kenmays laughed, "There are two
reasons I chose to do this. First, the Nortons' forces far exceed that of our three other houses. With their
involvement, we can decrease our casualties. Second, I wish to have five of the landed nobles we're
rearing given land in Delamock along with those in the care of the Nortons."
"Is that so..." Since the count had revealed his own intentions, the second highness no longer suspected
he had plotted this in conjunction with Lorist.
"However, I feel this benefits House Norton far too much. To the point it's a little undeserved," said the
second highness begrudgingly.
You're still not satisfied even if they're going to fight to the imperial capital for you? Kenmays said with a
smile, "Your Highness, if you accept this, you can leave the matter of reclaiming Baron Felim's dominion
to House Norton. I believe they would be more than capable of defending against House Fisablen."
"A great plan!" exclaimed the second highness.
The mere thought of having House Norton wear itself down against House Fisablen made his blood boil
with excitement.
If those two houses fight intensely and end up both ruined, I'll be able to deal with them after I settle
the Union and the four central duchies. Maybe I'll be able to rid myself of two problematic issues in one
go!
"I don't think Lorist will agree. He is someone that won't yield unless he sees something in it for him,"
said the second highness worryingly.
"You can name him the governor of Winston and leave Windbury in his jurisdiction," suggested
Kenmays.
The second highness raised his head.
"No way, that way, the Nortons would have two provinces!"
"That won't happen, Your Highness. When we conquer the duchy, there will definitely be nobles that
will submit to you. I also know some nobles of the Iblia kingdom that are on friendly terms with me. All
you have to do is move their dominions to Winston, and leave only Windbury under House Norton's
control. If you make sure to support House Felim, one of the Nortons' allies, I believe you'll have caused
House Norton quite a bit of trouble."
"Splendid!" the second highness cried with a clap of his hands, "Alright, I'll go with your plan."
Regret
Show TL Note
The sound of the horn resounded nonstop across the dry, withered plains as a group of soldiers
marched into view on the horizon. They brought with them various banners and stood in the distance.
Not long after, a few mounted men seemed to utter something, followed by some inaudible, confused
cries from the men at the back. They began to move once more and headed for Duke Madras's camp at
the foot of the mound.
The second highness could still remember clearly the time the messenger of Duke Madras once again
visited the army's camp to urge the army to leave the duchy in a day's time after the four houses
pledged their allegiance to him.
However, when Kenmays revealed the new conditions of retreat, the messenger laughed with insult
laced eyes.
"Lord Count, are you treating the duchy like an ox you can simply slaughter? Do you think His Grace will
agree? Don't forget a huge ox will have a pair of fearsome horns. As the messenger, I have no right to
criticize you for how ridiculous your ambitions are. I can only repeat what you said word for word to His
Grace. But I have to tell you one thing before I leave: since you want war, we won't disappoint you."
After the messenger's departure, the second highness was completely riled up and he instantly gave a
spirited speech, which basically boiled down to how negotiations have fallen apart and that the army
should use the chance to strike the duchy and take the rest of Delamock to gain as much territory as
possible before they can ready themselves. That way, they can afford to drag the war on or crush them
utterly.
However, the four nobles merely looked at the second highness with expressionless faces. Baron Shazin
was the first to speak out. He explained that there was no longer any need to attack Delamock. He
would instead raid the nobles' orchards and farmlands. Given his understanding of Delamock, he felt
there would be no point in attacking the well-defended castles since they would have to station soldiers
thereafter occupying them. It was no good to fragment their forces.
With a stern face, Baron Felim also criticized the second highness's plan. It was already the 10th month
and winter would arrive in a month. It wasn't possible to take the whole of Delamock in just 35 days, not
to mention the fact that apart from Kobo, the rest of Delamock worth taking were only manors of other
landed nobles. Given that Kobo was a fortified city with 20 thousand men guarding it, it was incredibly
hard to take. The army wouldn't be able to take the city quickly and any attempt to do so would only
incur unnecessary losses.
Kenmays smiled and advised the second highness that there was no need to be in such a hurry. The
messenger would require at least ten days to deliver the news to the duke, it would be the 11th month
by the time word reached him. The duchy's forces would have less than half a month to prepare for
winter, whereas their own army was mostly ready. By the time spring comes, the enemy would be
severely weakened because of their lack of preparation and victory would be within their grasp.
In the end, Lorist concluded that they would go according to their predicted course of action and ignore
the army that the duke would no doubt send. They would only fight after the duke gathered his army in
spring the next year. Lorist expressed his confidence in the army's might. They would be able to take the
duchy far more easily if the duke's army was wiped out first.
The strategy meeting ended on that note, with the four nobles leaving immediately without giving the
second highness a chance to convince them otherwise. The second highness grit his teeth after
everyone else left and regretted that he didn't ask for the right to guide the army's actions when he
signed the agreement.
The contract of oath was a guarantee a liege gave to his vassals. As long as the vassal carried out the
task given by their liege, they could go about it however they wanted without needing the permission or
interference of their liege.
Usually, an oath contract came in three copies. Apart from the liege and vassal's copies, there would be
another one for public announcement. The second highness's oath contract came in four copies, one
each for him and the four nobles with the final one used for public announcement. During the new year,
Kenmays would represent the four houses at the annual celebration in Gildusk and announce the
agreement to the nobles currently deprived of dominions by the Nortons and Kenmayses. According to
Kenmays, the agreement signaled the return of those nobles to the second highness's rule.
At first, the second highness wanted the smaller noble houses to sign the contract with each of the four
houses respectively, but Kenmays mentioned that the act might make others think the second highness
was intentionally trying to sabotage the alliance between the four houses. It was imperative that the
four houses worked together to conquer the duchy, so all four houses should be involved in a joint
signing. Only thusly would all the houses be in the same boat with regards to reputation and casualties.
Kenmays added that he would like to personally sign the agreement independent of the other houses
because he didn't want to be dragged into the same pit with them. He said it would definitely incite
Lorist's suspicion and the others by making them think the second highness had some private
arrangements or benefits for House Kenmays. If it were allowed to come to pass, not only would the
alliance be affected, the second highness's plan to reclaim his throne would also be ruined. So, Kenmays
said he was willing to get into the same boat as the four houses, even if it meant potentially greater
losses for him, so the second highness managed to successfully regain power in the kingdom.
The second highness praised Kenmays's sensible considerations and agreed to follow his suggestion for
the four houses to sign the same agreement, with the conditions Kenmays stipulated. When the second
highness stamped his finger on all six copies of the contract, Lorist, Felim and Shazin all nodded in
acknowledgment. The second highness couldn't be more riled up. He thought the four houses were now
at his beck and call. He would use them to wipe out his enemies and conquer the realm.
However, Lorist refused his suggestion to deploy soldiers almost immediately. When the second
highness brought up the plan to conquer Delamock, he realized he didn't have any right to command
the four houses' forces despite being their liege. Even the second highness' guards reported to the four
houses. Apart from gold-ranked knight Ripleid, Glacia and his three silver-ranked knights were back at
the Norton dominion recruiting soldiers and guarding the Whitelion Legion's equipment.
Not willing to give up, he sought out Lorist and the rest and tried his best to convince them once more
to follow his plan and storm the duchy while the duke was busy moving his own troops in to position to
defend against the upcoming assault, saying that allowing the enemy to gather their forces was the
biggest mistake they could ever make. After all, Duke Madras had the advantage in terms of both terrain
and manpower. Even if they fought to a point of losing, they would still be able to go on the defensive
and drag on the war.
However, there was only a month before winter arrived, so the second highness suggested that even if
they weren't able to conquer the whole of Delamock, it was still better than nothing if they managed to
wear down on the forces of the duchy and force the troops at Delamock to be unable to receive
reinforcements or support. That way, they could deliver the final strike when the enemy was worn out
even further by the coming winter.
Since Lorist mentioned that he wanted to wipe out the duke's army in one go, the second highness
intelligently changed his rhetoric. He said they had to decrease the enemy's combat strength before the
final fight instead of sitting around and watching the enemy gather their forces. Given the current
situation, the duchy was like a huge ox which the sole wolf that was their own army intended to hunt.
The wolf ought to open as many wounds on the ox as possible to stall the ox from launching into a life-
ending charge. Only after the ox bled most of its vitality out should the wolf engage in the killing
engagement and spell the end of the duchy.
To convince Lorist and the rest, the second highness went so far to use himself as an example, citing his
loss two years prior to the allied noble army in Anderwoff. Back then, he didn't command his troops to
wipe out the allied noble army in one go and instead engaged in three to four smaller skirmishes which
all ended in the horrible loss of the nobles. However, the nobles of Anderwoff continued to fight to the
death even after Anderwoff had been taken. Having been driven to Majik, they continued to struggle
against the second highness's forces until they received aid from the Union and the four central duchies
which ultimately resulted in their triumph.
That was the reasoning behind his argument that Lorist's plan for an all-out battle wouldn't guarantee
the duchy's fall. The second highness felt the army might repeat his mistake and end up in a huge
predicament. He maintained that only by attacking first and conquering the nobles' manors in Delamock
and crippling the duchy's forces was the way to go and that the army had to grasp the chance instead of
leaving their troops cooped up within the camp doing nothing.
Lorist didn't bother to argue with the second highness and merely brought out a map of the duchy and
began a simple simulation. Given the current state of the allied army, if they wanted to take the nobles
of Delamock's manors, they would have to split up into four contingents, each contingent containing 20
thousand men. Only then would they be able to conquer the manors of those nobles. Even at the lowest
possible casualty ratio of one to one, each of the four units would lose at least half their numbers after
conquering around five of those manors and would have no choice to retreat, ending up with only a
third of Delamock under their control.
The biggest weakness of the strategy was how there wasn't a way to encircle Kobo mainly due to the
fact that the duchy's reinforcements would arrive far too quickly. The duke would either send his
strongest unit, Seamountain Legion, to disrupt their plans or send 20 thousand garrison soldiers
stationed at the Sanderson Hills, making it extremely dangerous for the troops on the way to Kobo, even
threatening the safety of the camp at the riverbank.
If they sent 50 thousand men to encircle Kobo, the duke's reinforcements wouldn't be able to deal with
it. If they did that, however, the duke would send his troops to attack the camp at Metropoulos. If the
camp was destroyed, the consequences would be unimaginable. They might lose their only way of
retreat and perhaps be eliminated completely.
Lorist didn't hesitate to point out that the reason the second highness failed his attack on the Redlis
kingdom wasn't that he had gotten into a drawn-out, to-and-fro battle with the nobles, but that he had
his supply lines cut, which ended with the defeat of the troops stationed at Kanbona. Naturally, the
second highness's ill-prepared resources also contributed to the problem when they had to battle for an
unexpected amount of time. However, it still seemed the second highness hadn't yet understood where
he truly failed and almost had them repeat his mistake.
Embarrassment turned into anger as the second highness stressed that the forces of the Nortons and
Felims could secure the camp at the riverbank during the attack. That way, they would be able to guard
the camp and even press the attack on the nobles.
It was then that Felim objected profusely and called the second highness out for not understanding his
and the Nortons' forces. So far, the allied army's main force lay with Shazin and Kenmays, most were
heavy-armored infantry only proficient at defense and interception. Not only that, Shazin's two cavalry
divisions currently served as scouts and the camp had been set up in a way that would make it easier for
the infantry to defend from enemy assault and spend the winter.
Letting the defensive infantry troops attack the nobles all the while defending the camp along with the
Norton cavalry legion, which was optimized for attack operations, was nothing short of idiotic. Felim
insinuated that even if his troops and those of the Nortons guarded the camp, it wouldn't be able to
support the heavy infantry troops that returned from the attack. The resource consumption during
winter for the mounts of two legions was already astronomical.
"There's no need to argue further. We'll stick to the plan as previously discussed. All we have to do from
now to winter is defend the main camp. As for whether we attack, that can wait. Your Highness, you
ought to take a bath, calm down, and get some rest. Don't waste any precious time," said Lorist before
he left.
The second highness almost coughed up blood from his anger.

What do you mean take a bath and get some rest?! Did he mean I was wasting his time?!
The angered second highness brought out the contract and tried his best to find a clause that would
allow him to assert some control over Lorist. As he scoured the contract, he realized he had been duped
by Kenmays, who had dug him a huge pit into which he had jumped willingly, to say the least.
All of the clauses in the contract were ran through the second highness and mandated by him
personally. But after re-reading the contract, he hurriedly brought out a map of the empire and realized
that even if he could reunite the empire, apart from House Fisablen's Wild Husbandry Province, the
entirety of the Iblia kingdom would fall under the jurisdiction of the four houses. As long as the alliance
held, a third of the empire's territory would forever be out of his reach.
Take, for instance, Delamock, which the second highness promised to the landed nobles deprived of
their dominions. Most of them were vassals of House Norton, and Delamock would belong to the
Nortons in the truest sense after the duchy was eliminated.
The worst part was how the second highness elected Lorist as the governor of Windbury. He had
forgotten that Windbury was the capital of Winston, so even if the nobles of Winston were on the
second highness's side, a governor like Lorist wasn't. And in the chain of command, any order the
second highness had for the nobles of Winston had to go through Windbury first, so Lorist could just
intentionally not pass the orders on while he dealt with the nobles himself.
The second highness's regret amplified. He had practically given the whole of Winston to the Nortons.
He later discovered another clause that severely disadvantaged him: there was no date for when the
Nortons had to help the second highness reclaim his throne. Not only that, the territory promised to the
four houses would be in effect right after the duchy's conquest whether the second highness regained
his throne or not.
For instance, the second highness had promised Sidgler to Kenmays as his hereditary dominion with the
count promoted to duke with the only condition being the conquest of the Madras duchy. Not only that,
as long as the four houses conquered Winston and Windbury, Lorist's term as governor would be
effective immediately and Windbury would fall under his control.
I was blinded! How could I believe Kenmays, a person from a sly merchant family?!
The second highness despaired with his realization, especially the one where he didn't stipulate when
the four houses had to reclaim his throne. It could happen right after their conquest of Madras, or even
20 years later! The four houses would only have to sustain the second highness in The Northlands in the
meantime while they carry out their strategy to suck as many benefits out of him as they could.
Even though the second highness felt rather generous when he was giving away almost all the benefits
of conquering the Iblia kingdom to the four houses to ensure their loyalty, he realized that the current
situation allowed the four houses enough territory to found their own kingdom after he reunited the
empire. He almost wanted to cut his own hands off and wondered how he could be so misguided to put
his thumbprint on such a contract.
There were no lieges that dared to go back on their word on an oath contract. After all, it was the most
sacred form of agreement there was. It represented the promise of the liege to the gods and their
ancestors. The second highness knew the contract was the only document ensuring the four houses'
loyalty. If he truly breached it, not only would all his reputation and trustworthiness be gone, the four
houses could use it as an excuse to revoke their pledge of allegiance to him and return to being rogue
nobles. Not only would he not gain a single thing for which he had bargained with the four houses, he
would also gain four mighty enemies.
Currently, the second highness was standing at the top of the castle in the middle of the mound where
the camp was built. He looked at the horizon and saw the duchy's forces gathered at a campsite one
kilometer away, busy digging moats and building up their defensive line. He also saw rows of carriages
bringing in all sorts of resources.
I hope they gather as many as possible. I can only be patient and wait for spring to come now. Perhaps
after the four houses' army clashes with the duchy's and end up crippled, I can rise again. Maybe the
only way I can go about this is to let the army get entangled with Duke Madras at Delamock while I build
up Whitelion Legion on the sidelines to regain control over the situation, thought the second highness.
Landing
Here's the third release of the week, enjoy!

The silver moon hung high in the sky and shed its silver glory onto the realm of man.
The weather was rather calm on the northern seas, which was rare for the winter season. The moonlight
reflected off the calm surface of the ocean, giving it a sparkly sheen.
On the distant shore, a lit torch could be seen twirled around three times. It stood still for a few
moments before it once again twirled thrice.
"Everything should be on track," Potterfang said, "Milord, I think we can make our move now."
Even though the weather was pleasant, in stark contrast to the strong winds all too common during the
season, the chill of winter still made Lorist cold to the bone despite the thick layers of fur he wore.
"Let our troops drink some rum and warm their limbs. I don't want them going numb because of the
cold and falling into the water. They're definitely goners if they get wet in this cold. I don't want to see
any accidents happen. Prepare to move out."
"Yes, Milord. I will have them prepare right away. Don't worry, Milord. We've already trained for this
many times; there won't be any problems," replied Potterfang, standing ramrod straight.
The orders were passed down quickly. The ships in front rotated until their sides faced the shore. The
sailors threw a large net over the side and let it hung down the side of the ship to the water below
before lowering the rafts.
The soldiers each took two gulps from their respective leather sacks, causing Lorist to get a whiff of the
dizzying scent of rum. It served to raise the soldiers' body heat so they didn't get affected too much by
the cold. Norton troops don't coop up in their camps during the winter. Instead, they would undertake
all sorts of training exercises thanks to the need to exterminate the magic beast wave years earlier. It
was already a common practice and also served to improve their knowledge on staving off cold.
The standard rations of a Norton soldier included a small leather sack of rum. Drinking some rum and
circulating one's battleforce would increase the body's temperature and help maintain it for a time,
which would prevent one from being chilled numb by the cold.
After the soldiers had some rum and began flexing their limbs, they checked their armaments one more
time before going over the railings and climbing down the net to reach the rafts. Some of Firmrock
Legion's silver-ranked troops had already gone ashore not too long ago and awaited the rest's arrival.
A few more ships gradually approached the shore with chains of large wooden boxes trailing behind
them. They were the mobile ports which the worksmiths on the ship would link together to form a 100-
meter-long bridge through the reefs near the shore after the ships anchored. The legion's wheelbarrow-
ballistae unit could only land once the dock was assembled and in place.
While it was usually harder to set up two mobile ports in the dead of night, given the calm weather and
the moonlight, the task was completed in a few short hours. After the Firmrock troops completed their
landings, the floating bridges would be retracted and left near the reef so House Kenmays could use
them as a port as per the agreement between Lorist and the count.
As the saying went, 'to defeat an army, go for the commander'. Lorist had never planned to rely on
defeating the duchy's army before making his move to swallow it up. The plan to wait till spring before
crushing the duke's army was only something Lorist used to mislead the second highness. What the four
houses actually wanted was for the duchy to be in a state untouched by war when they took over.
While the second highness's plan for the four houses to wipe the nobles in the province out to stifle
their ability to resist was a sound plan, it would effectively render the territory useless even if they
conquered the entire place. The four houses would have to invest lots of funds to redevelop the land.
This was the true reason they refused to follow the second highness's suggestion.
When the duchy's most elite force, Seamountain Legion, arrived at the camp opposite the Northlander
army, Lorist knew Duke Madras' lair, Sidgler, was no longer defended. It had already raised the odds of
his plan to take Sidgler during the 12th month to 80 percent. As long as they were able to encircle
Edelise without anyone noticing and capture the duke himself without letting word spread, he could use
the duke's personal seal to enter Xith Castle, Vanades, and Kobo unimpeded without the defenders
knowing any better. The duchy would effectively be no more after those three places were taken.
The second highness should've been invited or forced by Kenmays to go to the duke's manor in Gildusk
to participate in the new year's celebrations. The second highness had already realized the tricks
Kenmays played on him in the contract the previous month and changed his friendly attitude. Kenmays,
on the other hand, maintained his polite demeanor as if nothing had happened. The second highness
was unable to hate the man no matter how angry he was.
Lorist smirked when he thought about the fact that it was his idea to let Kenmays do the talking. He
didn't think the second highness would actually fall into the trap that easily. Perhaps, he thought too
highly of himself and only brought his guard up against the Nortons. Whatever the reason, he fell for
Kenmays' flowery words.
The second highness might just realize spring next year that the whole of the duchy fell into the houses'
hands when he was expecting them to just begin their attack. Only then would he truly understand the
degree to which he had been duped. Without war-torn battlefields, the second highness won't be able
to take advantage of the situation to recruit soldiers for his Whitelion Legion. That way, he won't be able
to go to the Andinaq kingdom to deal with Queen Carey. As a result, he would have to rely on the four
houses to spend his days and keep begging Lorist to deploy troops to restore him to the throne.
The other houses were not informed about the plan to encircle Edelise itself lest it was leaked.
According to the plan known to all, the Nortons would deploy Tigersoar Legion at the lower stream of
Metropoulos during spring the next year and cross the floating bridge to head to the final battle with the
duchy's forces. While it was not part of Lorist's actual plan, he would still have to deploy the legion to
face Queen Carey's forces.
"Milord, the first batch has landed. The sailors are heading back with the rafts," reported Potterfang.
They were at the narrowest part of the shallow seas near Platinum Beach situated only a little over a
hundred meters from shore. Lorist snapped out of his thoughts to look at the coast. He saw the sailors
pulling the rafts back to the ships using the rope that connected the vessels. The rafts were mostly
empty apart from the single sailor manning them.
Lorist recalled the three horizontal wooden boards he intended to use for balancing the rafts, but the
shipwrights at the yard had found the design unusable. In the end, they redesigned the rafts to have a
rounded back and a square front, which allowed for more people to be ferried at once while improving
the craft's balance. They only needed one extra sailor to man each boat from the back.
"Milord, I've returned," said the figure that suddenly appeared on one of the rafts and scaled the ship.
It was Els, the guards', the first to be deployed, leader.
"What was up with those fishermen during the day? They forced us to delay our operation," inquired
Lorist.
Originally, the plan was to be carried out during the day, but the folk of the Flying Fish of Dawn found it
hard to scout the beach because of the fishing boats near the coast.
What the heck is wrong with them? Even though it's winter, there are still sailors willing to take the risk
and fish! Nobody could've predicted...
In the end, Lorist had no choice but to wait until evening before he could begin the operation.
"They are from the Blackpearl Merchant Guild, Milord. Their salt farm and fishery are located at
Platinum Beach's southernmost end. Our men have already taken control of the premises. According to
the captives, the fishermen were out fishing to prepare ingredients for the duke's banquet tomorrow. It
appears to be a yearly affair," replied Els.
According to Lorist's knowledge, the Blackpearl Merchant Guild was the largest merchant guild in the
duchy. It was said they were one of the duchy's largest backers. They monopolized the salt and fish
trade. The salt merchant committee's suppression in the duchy was their doing. Their method of salt
production through boiling seawater was horribly inefficient. It resulted in ridiculous prices. In spite of
their prices, there was still a market for their salt throughout the duchy.
The Blackpearl Merchant Guild also fished near the coasts and sold their catch to the four central
duchies. Seafood was also one of the few specialties of Sidgler. Lorist didn't think the duke would go so
far as to have the fishermen go to sea during winter just for his new year's banquet.
He looked at the two floating bridges that were only a fraction complete.
I don't think this will be finished anytime soon.
Lorist turned to Potterfang.
"Pog, I will go ashore first. Stay here and command the troops."
"Milord, why don't you rest in the cabin instead?" Potterfang asked, surprised, "It won't be too late to
go there when the bridge is complete. It's far stabler that way as well. Also, taking a raft is rather risky."
"No worries," Lorist laughed, "I'll bring a few guards with me. I'm sure you've heard what Els said as well,
right? I plan to interrogate the captives. We might be able to have more people infiltrate Edelise with
us."
Now that Lorist had made his decision, there was nothing Potterfang could do. He had of the rafts
reserved for Lorist and the guards, led by Els.
In an attempt to raise morale, Lorist chose to land in the same manner his troops had and took the
initiative to do part of the rowing. He found the initiative rather displeasing by the time he neared the
shore. Feeling the splashes of chilling water on his face caused him to start shivering slightly. His hands
were almost chilled to numbness. He yearned for the shore all the more for it.
The closer they got to shore, the more ice crystals were visible in the water. When Lorist saw this, he
found he had overlooked one important factor. Platinum Beach wasn't frozen as he thought it would be
and had instead turned into a field of snow. Thick layers of snow gathered on the beach's surface,
causing the part of the beach where water touched to form ice.
The squarish part of the raft bumped against the shore and caused some of the ice to fall off. A group of
Norton soldiers rushed to the raft and pulled on the rope at the front of the raft while they shouted.
"Quick, get to shore! Take lighter steps and don't stomp on the ground. If any of you need to warm up,
take a few swigs and start moving about."
"Oh, Milord, it's you," said one of the soldiers who realized Lorist's presence amidst the guards.
Lorist jumped on the shore lightly and patted on that soldier's shoulder.
"Well done. But why can't we stomp on the ground here?"
"Oh, Milord, the first group of soldiers to arrive had instantly stomped about to warm up the moment
they got here. They didn't realize they were standing on a patch of frozen ice instead of the beach itself.
The ice cracked and the whole group fell straight into the water," replied the soldier.
Lorist's chest tightened when he asked, "Then, how are they doing now?"
"They're fine, Milord," the soldier said with a smile, "Even though the unlucky fools got wet, the water
only reached their thighs since the waters here are shallow. They were ordered to strip and dry their
clothes near the fire before taking more rum and circulating their battleforce. They'll be back to normal
after their clothes and armor are dry. They're still loitering around the fire naked over there and many of
us couldn't help but laugh..."
Lorist felt relieved as he laughed at the thought of a bunch of naked men circling a fire. Fortunately,
there was battleforce in Grindia. Had they been normal folk who couldn't use it, they would've ended up
on the brink of death. Falling into water negative 30 degrees centigrade would no doubt bring a tragedy.
Thankfully, the soldiers were at least of the bronze rank and were far stronger than average soldiers in
Lorist's previous life.
Knight Pajik had been made an officer in Firmrock Legion following his breakthrough to the gold rank.
Lorist was rather assured with the knight running the landing. It didn't take long for Pajik to rush over.
"Milord, why have you come?" asked the knight after he saluted.
"I wanted to come over for a look and ask the folk at the fishery and salt farms about Edelise while I'm at
it. How many people do we have ashore at the moment?"
"One and a half brigades, Milord," replied Pajik.
"Good. Even though Edelise is a day's travel from here, you have to be wary since the road there is
covered by snow. Have a brigade of fully-armed troops occupy that mound in the distance and monitor
the surroundings. We'll set out for Edelise when the rest of the force has landed," said Lorist as he
pointed to a snow-covered mound farther away.
"Understood, Milord. I will send some men immediately," said Pajik.
"Alright. Els, let's head to the fishery and salt farms."
"Understood, Milord. We'll have to walk across the beach to get there," said Els.
Occupation
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From the map, the land of Sidgler could be seen as a valley surrounded by Lizgna Mountains and Civilink
Highlands. The valley was large enough to be a province in and of itself. Some parts even neared the
coast. There was only one entrance, it was the pathway near which Xith Castle was built. The fact that
only one castle was required to defend Sidgler was probably why Duke Madras made it his
headquarters.
The second highness's strategy started with him encouraging the four houses to devastate Delamock.
But he never thought they would attack Sidgler and only wanted the duke to coop up in his lair. He felt
conquering Xith Castle was nothing but a pipe dream. The dangerous terrain aside, the narrow pathway
into Sidgler prevented any army from displaying their true potential. Small waves of a hundred people
going against the castle was nothing but suicide.
When Lorist led his convoy through the duchy, he had them disguised as merchants and successfully
conquered Xith Castle. He left it in the care of the second highness's troops. But right after the duke
mobilized Seamountain Legion from Sidgler, the second highness left after a few days because it was
only good for defending against outside threats rather than inside ones. While Xith Castle was hard to
take from the outside of the valley, the opposite was true from the inside. The reason was that the duke
was afraid he would be trapped in the valley if anybody managed to conquer the castle and hold there.
The duke renovated the castle heavily over the past few years and made a simple citadel into a triple-
walled contraption. The company he had originally stationed in the castle was also increased to a full
regiment. Even if one managed to conquer the first wall, the troops defending the castle would still be
able to put up resistance from the second and third walls. It was precisely because of Duke Madras's
confidence in his castle that he allowed his most elite unit, Seamountain Legion, to head to the
frontlines to give the Northland bumpkins a long due lesson and chase them back across the river.
It was a shame the duke never predicted the enemy would come from the sea during the winter. Apart
from the thousand guards that defended the central castle at Edelise, there were no more than two
thousand men defending the inner and outer cities. Most of them were conscripts brought on board
specifically to serve for the winter.
Nobody performed their duties fully; the cold was just too much. As they saw it, no enemy could get
past Xith Castle. Had it not been for the banquet the duke hosted, which saw many nobles of the duchy
going through the castle and tipping the soldiers on duty, none would bother to show up for their shifts.
It took one day to travel from Platinum Beach to Edelise on foot and around ten or so hours by carriage.
One would take close to half a day even if one went by horse without rest. The duke renamed the city
from Traft after his first daughter, Edelise - who was born there. He spent eight years expanding the city
before he renamed it. He also moved his house there at the same time and made it their headquarters.
Lorist had a map of Sidgler unrolled before him

"Edelise is defended by three fortified walls, the center of which is connected to the keep," Lorist
explained as he pointed at the city on the map, "All of the duke's family members are there. He will host
his banquet at the duke's mansion, which is directly behind the keep. The area between the inner wall
and the centermost wall is called the inner bailey, where most of the duke's relatives and rich merchants
or tycoons live. Some of the duke's vassals also have dwellings there.
"Between the outer wall and the wall in the center is the outer bailey, where most of the family
members of Seamountain Legion's soldiers, the servants of the inner bailey, members of the Blackpearl
Merchant Guild, and farmers of the surrounding area live. Put bluntly, the citizens of Edelise have a
really tight-knit relationship with House Madras. Duke Madras has managed Sidgler for close to 40 years
already and has built the foundations of his house here at Edelise.
"Last night, we interrogated the captives of Blackpearl Merchant Guild's salt farm and fishery and got
word that the defenses around Edelise are rather lax at the moment. We can take the two walls easily if
we're undiscovered, but the central castle itself will prove troublesome. When we attempt to breach the
third line of defense, we'll have to make sure the enemy doesn't have any escape routes. We cannot let
them retreat to the keep and put up a defense there.
"As Edelise is House Madras' headquarters, I will have to give a special order. We are Nortons; we don't
lower ourselves to oppressing civilians. But as we attack Edelise, if there are any commoners that resist
our advances, you may use any method at your disposal to pacify them, be they women or children.
Otherwise, there will be a chance for someone to rile up a civilian revolt and bring us countless troubles,
perhaps even affect the moves we can make. Understood?"
"Yes, Milord," replied the knights surrounding him.
Lorist asked Howard something before he turned back to the knights.
"It's around five right now. According to the captives, they are supposed to depart around seven to
arrive at Edelise around five to deliver the seafood to the keep manager. Els, bring some men with you
disguised as members of the guild and take the supervisors with you. You just need to get past the outer
wall."
"Understood, Milord. I will definitely execute my mission successfully," replied Els.

"If we had to march to Edelise, we might not be able to arrive today," Lorist laughed, "Fortunately, we
have our skis. They will let us travel even faster than the carriages Els is taking to the city. The only
problem is there are six farmland manors along the way. If we're discovered, they might light a smoke
signal to alert the city guard. That's where you come in, Malek."
"What are your orders, Milord?" said Malek as he stepped forward.
"I will leave the six manors to you. You have to prevent them from informing the enemy of our
presence."
"Understood, Milord. I will not let any of the six manors inform anyone," said Malek.
"Pajik."
"Awaiting your orders, Milord."
"Take a brigade and seal the path between Xith and Edelise. As long as you do, even if there are people
who manage to escape Edelise, they won't be able to reach Xith. With this, our plan can't fail."
"Understood, Milord."
"Pog, what comes after will depend on you. I'm leaving the attack on Edelise to you. My only role is
dealing with Krisas, the duke's rank 2 blademaster. It is the key to taking Xith, Vanades, and Kobo. We
can't afford any mishaps."
"Rest assured, Milord. I won't let you down," Potterfang nodded.
"Alright, there's little more than an hour left. Let's get to work and leave the moment you're ready.
There's no need to wait for my order. Pog is in charge, follow his command. Understood?"
"Yes, Milord!"
......
The operation was executed without issue. Els managed to control the gates of Edelise easily after
infiltrating the city. He even managed to let the first group of soldiers enter. They only took about half
an hour to take over the outer wall. Snow began to fall just as the combat died down. The skies
darkened and hid the invaders well from those further inside the city.
It was strange that they only had a small number of captives from the outer wall. When they questioned
what few captives they had, they learned that most of the guards had given their shifts the slip. No one
was willing to face to cold.
Els continued his mission. He donned the guise of a Blackpearl Merchant Guild member and brought his
produce for delivery. Along with Potterfang's troops, he quickly took the second wall. Just as they were
about to advance on the third wall, however, something unexpected happened. A few people
approached from far and cursed at the group who were supposedly delivering the seafood for almost
being late for the banquet. They hurried Els's group to the duke's mansion immediately.
When the people realized Els and the guards weren't people they knew, one smart one attempted to
rush back to report. Els had no choice but to take care of them. Fortunately, none escaped. Three died
and two were captured. It didn't take long to deal with them either -- nobody noticed the commotion.
After quickly dealing with the corpses, they questioned the two captives and learned that the person in
charge from Blackpearl Merchant Guild sent the five of them out because he was panicking about how
late the seafood was.
After leaving a carriage to store the corpses and four guards to watch the captives, Els led the rest
straight to the backyard of the duke's mansion. The near-hundred guards split into two units. One
stormed the keep the moment Potterfang made his move and the other headed to the third wall's gate
to await Lorist and Potterfang's arrival.
Attacking the keep turned out to be quite the relaxing task. Only 200 or so of the original thousand
guards that should have been on duty weren't absent. When faced with the horde of Firmrock Legion
soldiers, they surrendered after ten short minutes of resistance.
"Argh!" cried an elaborately dressed fifty-year-old man. He was rank 2 blademaster Krisas. He lay on the
ground, defeat by just six strikes from Lorist. Beside him lay his ceremonial sword, which he had used for
the engagement. It was a most sorry sight.
The fight happened within the main hall where the banquet was held. Lorist had killed a rank 2
blademaster almost instantly in front of Duke Madras and tens of other noblemen and ladies. The
bloody sight caused quite a number of women to faint.
"Who are you?"
Lorist rubbed his nose awkwardly.
"Norton Lorist of House Norton, Duke of The Northlands," replied Lorist.
"Duke of The Northlands? House Norton doesn't command that title," said Duke Madras suspiciously.
"You would indeed not know of it. I was only recently given this title by Second Highness Auguslo. I've
also been enfeoffed the whole of The Northlands."
"Is that so... Then Auguslo's still alive and even made it to The Northlands... And those people from the
Union claimed he was dead. What are you going to do to me?"
"Hehe, Lord Duke, it's not up to me to decide your fate. I will send your whole house to His Highness. It's
up to him to decide your fate," said Lorist.
Duke Madras slumped back into his seat like a deflated balloon and laughed wryly.
"Haha, I already know my fate in that case. I have another question, though. How did you enter? Did the
garrison troops at Xith Castle betray me?"
"I don't know whether the troops there betrayed you, Lord Duke. We came from the sea," replied Lorist.
Just like that, Edelise fell into Firmrock Legion's hands. The city's near hundred thousand citizens didn't
know they were at the mercy of a different master. Lorist left the aftermath to Potterfang and occupied
Duke Madras's bedroom on the uppermost floor of the keep. He indulged in his precious wines and
enjoyed the snow gradually covering the city.
Not long after, something embarrassing happened. Loyal as Potterfang was, he was worried that his lord
wouldn't have any company in his sleep. So, he picked two noble ladies from the captives and sent them
to warm Lorist's bed. For those women, this was something unavoidable as it was noble custom. They
might, perhaps, be able to use the opportunity to make a plea for their house. They never thought they
would be serving Lorist, the man who had terrified some of them into unconsciousness when he killed
Blademaster Krisas.
When they met Lorist, the two instantly panicked. One fainted and another lost control of her bladder.
Lorist, much dismayed, had Howard send the women out, only for another misunderstanding to occur.
The one who peed all over thought Lorist had just ordered their execution and fainted, while the one
who just regained consciousness hugged Lorist's leg and pleaded to be spared.
The commotion was quite a way to spend the first night of the new year and Howard took the brunt of it
as he had to monitor the servants who cleaned the floors while he brought a bathtub to Lorist and
prepared some hot water before leaving promptly. Lorist had chosen to 'punish' the women personally.
Their moans and cries rang throughout the night. It only calmed down at dawn.
Lorist only re-appeared at noon the next day.
"Let this be the last time you do this," he told Potterfang with a stern expression.
In spite of his reprimand, the two beautiful women were kept by his side and their households were
spared.
......
During the 1st month of Year 1777, House Norton and their Firmrock Legion attacked Sidgler via
Platinum Beach. They conquered Edelise and managed to apprehend Duke Madras and tens of other
duchy nobles. Firmrock Legion's commander, Gold-ranked Knight Potterfang, used Duke Madras's seal
to gain entry to Xith Castle and Vanades for a surprise attack and managed to occupy both. On the 23rd
day of the 1st month, Kobo also fell. From that day onward, the Madras duchy was no more.
On the 17th day of the 2nd month, the citizens of Edelise revolted. Near a hundred thousand citizens
protested on the streets against the surprise attack and demanded House Norton leave and Duke
Madras return. Only ten thousand of the legion's soldiers were present. Gold-ranked Knight Malek gave
the order to kill to suppress the revolt, which resulted in the deaths of more than 30 thousand of
Edelise's citizens and the capture of 40 thousand more. Malek, who gave the order without the slightest
change in expression, was known henceforth as Ironface.
Suggestion
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A storm raged outside the window.
It was already the middle of the 3rd month. On Grindia, this was the start of the rainy season. The
season lasted for nearly two months in the south of the continent. The Northlands was in the middle of
the continent, however, and thanks to the naturally barrier of the Magical Dragon Mountains, not much
of the weather from the south existed there. The Northlands only had 20 days of rain during the rainy
season.
Lorist had already returned to Fimrock Castle and left Potterfang to deal with what was left of the
duchy. After becoming Duke of The Northlands, he had to act the part per his subordinates' advice and
not lead the charge every time there was a battle. All he had to do, and should do, was ensure the house
was heading in the general direction of his goals. The details were up to the household knights and
officials.
Nowadays, there were 16 gold-ranked knights serving the house. Had it not been for the fact that Duke
Madras had a rank 2 blademaster by his side, Lorist wouldn't have bothered to be present for the
operation. His desire for absence was because his presence made him miss Dilianna's delivery date.
When Lorist was enjoying the service of his two new companions, the young aunt of Arriotoli gave birth
to another child for the house at Firmrock.
Lorist looked at the map for a good while as Charade instructed Howard to get two more candles.
"Locke, are you still worried about the operation? Firmrock Legion has already occupied Kobo and cut
off the supply lines of our hundred thousand or so enemies. From the successful occupation, we
discovered they had planned to ship another batch of resources to their camp before the rainy season
but were unable to do so before our arrival. I'm sure the soldiers of the duke's army will be worn out
and starving by the end of the season. They won't have any option other than surrender."
"I know the situation in the duchy is mostly set in stone," Lorist answered, shaking his head, "I've already
ordered Tigersoar to head west after the rainy season to force the enemy to surrender. I'm sure you've
also read Pog's report that we've already taken control of their supplies when we conquered Kobo. They
were only unable to launch a counterattack to retake the city because the season is already upon us.
"I know the enemy we have to face is the 60 thousand men of Seamountain Legion. Originally, the
garrison of Kobo and Vanades each had another ten thousand men. There are also 20 thousand troops
stationed at Sanderson Hills, not to mention the 10 thousand private troops of the nobles. It's clear as
day they're trying to fight back with the coming of spring in one decisive battle, but we didn't even give
them such a chance.
"Without their supplies, the duchy's troops will struggle to survive. I expect what remains of their
supplies and workhorses will probably last them through the season. I didn't intend for Tigersoar to fight
them when I deployed them. I already wrote to Loze and told him his main purpose was to keep the
enemy trapped in their camps. Since the harvest season follows directly on the rainy season, I definitely
won't allow them to start harvesting crops to get out of their predicament.
"According to our plan, Tigersoar will keep the enemy in camp while Hennard brings the Shazin forces to
encircle the seven citadels at Sanderson Hills. Without supplies from Kobo, the 20 thousand soldiers will
have to surrender in at most two months. House Kenmays' forces will also head to Sidgler to take
Firmrock Legion's place so the latter can return to Silowas for the next phase of our plan. As for House
Felim's light cavalry legion, we will leave it to them to exterminate the nobles in Delamock that still
resist. Given most of the Madras nobles have already fallen into our hands, I'm sure it will be an easy
task for Felim."
Charade flipped open another folder.
"Locke, Firmrock Legion captured 38 landed nobles in total during the capture of the duke's mansion in
Edelise. According to a list with their respective titles, there are members from 63 houses of the duchy.
It should've been more than 80, but the second prince took out 20-odd houses when he stormed
Delamock. The nobles that participated in the banquet at the mansion can't be considered the duke's
confidants. The people he truly trusts probably serve Seamountain Legion and the garrison forces. We
better be wary when dealing with the aftermath to prevent anyone from putting up a last stand.
"Also, even though the nobles of the houses trusted by the duke didn't attend the banquet, the female
and younger members of those houses did and have also fallen into our hands. There are around 100
noble ladies and young masters from these houses among those we captured. Perhaps, we can use
them as bargaining chips to get their houses. As long as they give up resistance, we will allow them to
leave the duchy with their wealth and family members go wherever they want. I believe it'll rid them of
any desire to resist."
Lorist nodded.
"Alright, do so. I'll write a letter to Pog, Loze, and the rest to cooperate with you. Let's obtain victory at
the smallest price possible. I hope the situation can be settled before the 6th month."
"Locke, would the second highness have any objections to us letting the nobles loyal to the duke go?"
asked Charade.
Even though the second highness was the former king of the Andinaq kingdom in name, the knights of
the house addressed him as 'His Highness' instead of 'His Majesty', and Charade was no exception.
"Don't care about him. Even if he sees those nobles as traitors of the empire for joining up with Duke
Madras, there's no point in us sacrificing our house's troops to exterminate them. If the second highness
wants to punish them, he'll have to catch them himself. Since there's nothing in it for us, we're not
obligated to do anything."
The ten-odd years of experience as a dominion lord had familiarized Lorist with the norms of the world
and the nature of his position. Causing trouble for the royal family is the favored pastime of almost all
landed nobles.
"Understood. But what do we do about the 38 captured nobles?" snickered Charade.
"For the noble houses of the old Krissen Empire, those above the title of viscount will be demoted one
rank. Don't bother with the barons. There's no way they can be demoted further. After you're done with
the demotions, move their dominions to Winston. As for the nobles Duke Madras entitled, we don't
have to acknowledge their peerage. Just release them and confiscate two-thirds of their assets. Let them
leave with the rest and go wherever they desire," replied Lorist.
"Whoa! Then we won't have many landed nobles left! I've already estimated we'd only have around 20
houses left," Charade exclaimed, looking at his list.
"Locke, what do we do if the nobles close with the duke insist on keeping their titles and dominions?"
continued he.
"Well, tell them they can remain nobles with a one-rank demotion as long as they become our vassals.
We'll accept their pledge of allegiance if they can prove their worth. Duke Madras was no fool, and
anyone he prioritizes must be capable to some degree. Perhaps, some of them might prove rather
useful."
Lorist gave it some thought before added, "Also, House Yujink and House Sabri don't need to be
demoted or moved. Just have them become vassals. Their dominions will have to be adjusted, though."
House Yujink and House Sabri were the houses of the two beauties with whom Lorist had spent that
pleasurable night. Thanks to letting their daughters warm Lorist's bed, the houses wouldn't be punished
and survived the transition to another lord smoothly with minimal losses, much to many's envy. At the
same time, it showed the leader of House Norton, the Duke of The Northlands, was a person who cared
for relationships and connections, instead of being cruel and heartless.
Charade tried to stifle his laugh as he commented, "I heard it gave you quite some trouble back then."
Lorist stroked his nose awkwardly as when he returned to Firmrock Castle from Edelise, he brought the
two beauties along. It naturally enraged Arriotoli.
"We sisters and our aunt are already your women, and our aunt even birthed you a son! Yet, you used
attacking the Madras duchy as your excuse to skip my aunt's delivery and even dare to bring two
beauties back with you?! Do you think I'll just sit quietly and accept this?! I'll show you what I've got, you
shallow, superficial bastard!" she had said at the time.
"How did you resolve it?"
Charade was rather curious about the matter. Even though Arriotoli was a jealous and envious woman,
the household knights and officials had a rather good impression of her. Mainly because of the effort
she put in to become a silver-ranked knight, as well as how she only kept her tantrums between her and
Lorist. On one occasion when she tried to pitch her sister as the matron of House Norton, she made sure
to ask the officials and knights about their opinions on the matter. But when she learned that it wouldn't
work, she dropped it without complaint instead of pestering Lorist.
"Nothing much. I just agreed to move House Dina's dominion to Delamock and take it as our vassal,"
Lorist said with a troubled smile, "I also promised I would bring the two sisters with me during my
excursions in the future. They said it was necessary to stop me from bringing back more beauties after
every trip."
"Hahaha," laughed Charade heartily.

Lorist got a bottle of fruit wine and poured Charade some during their little interlude.
"Oh, Milord, Knight Malek sent a report that requires your attention. He requested to be held
responsible for the revolting citizens' massacre in Edelise," Charade said as he took out a piece of
beastskin from his blue folder, "It arrived yesterday afternoon. Take a look."
Lorist gave it a quick glance before he did something that surprised Charade. He set the report on fire
using a nearby candle and let it burn.
"Locke, what are you doing? We have to archive it," said Charade, stunned.
"No," Lorist said, shaking his head, "Not this report. No record will be kept of the revolt. I'll also reward
Knight Malek and have him give me a list of people who managed to contribute to its suppression. This
matter was dealt with swiftly. I've long told you that as Edelise has been the headquarters of House
Madras for more than 40 years, the citizens are no doubt very closely tied to it. Having only ten
thousand men stationed there is a little too careless. Had Malek not steeled himself and cut the root of
the problem away, we would've been chased out of the city. If that happened, I have no doubt the
whole of Sidgler would have joined in.
"Apart from Edelise, House Madras didn't enfeoff any other noble house land within Sidgler and instead
constructed around 40 farmland manors and took in 200 thousand people. Among them are the family
members of Seamountain Legion troops. It's the reason they are the most elite among the duke's
troops. It's as if Duke Madras kidnapped their families. If they don't perform well, their families will pay
the price. They were forced to give their all and fight to their deaths.
"According to the name list of the legion, which we got from the duke's mansion, I've already had
Furybear collect the families' belongings. We'll send them to the legion after the rainy season to
crumble their will to resist. Part of the reason those who pulled the strings behind the scenes started the
revolt was to stop us so the legion wouldn't be out of the fight. They hoped to buy time for an
opportunity.
"Hehe, it's too bad they were merely dreaming. There's no way they can change the situation now. I bet
they didn't think we would move House Kenmays's dominion to Sidgler. The huge move will wipe the
province clean. It'll extinguish all insurgent factors. Let's see who'll have the last laugh."
According to the agreement with House Kenmays, 250 of the current 340 thousand people living in the
eastern Northlands -- thanks to the Kenmayses' refugee recruitment effort over the last couple of years -
- would be moved to Sidgler, while the Nortons would be in charge of the evacuation of the original
Sidgler citizens so the Kenmays folk would have homes to live in and land to farm.
Put bluntly, House Kenmays planned to move most of their subjects with them to Sidgler to displace its
original citizens, who would be in turn moved to the eastern Northlands. According to Charade, it was an
unnecessary move, but House Kenmays felt it was best to bring their own subjects with them.
Otherwise, their position might not last longer than a few years.
"Locke, will the soldiers of Seamountain Legion and the duchy's garrison forces be required to serve
three years' labor to develop the eastern area of The Northlands?" asked Charade.
Lorist gave it some thought before he replied.
"The east's development has to wait. The vacation of the citizens of Sidgler, who are the family of many
in Seamountain Legion, is to let them get used to The Northlands' environment. The skilled ones like
smiths are the ones who will meld with our house the easiest since there isn't anybody but us who
appreciate their talents more. They'll be given preferential treatment and be allowed to work at our
factories to fill up the demand.
"As for the soldiers of Seamountain Legion and the garrison forces, let them build the roads in Delamock
after they surrender. I hope we will be able to connect Vanades and Kobo in two years, before building
another highway straight to The Northlands. I really don't understand how the empire was run back
then. If they had built a highway, it wouldn't take more than five days to travel from Vanades to The
Northlands. There's no point in making the journey curve and triple in traveling time..."
Charade laughed at Lorist's complaints.
"Locke, you didn't know how much the Krissen Empire spent to build the current connections. The
reason behind its current state is the fact that the highway would have to pass through the dominions of
many nobles. They've objected to its constructions vehemently for many decades. The empire rejected
their demands to be allowed to collect tolls on the highway, so they refused to let the highway pass
through their dominions. In the end, the empire didn't have a choice and had to build the pathway
around the borders of those dominions. All this is recorded and archived.
"Not only that, many nobles stood to gain lots of profit from the construction of the current highway.
The construction of the current road from Delamock is recorded to cost the most in the history of the
empire. It took seven years to build and the cost involved was enough to build seven similar roads. I
remember back then there were even newspapers that justified the way it took by arguing that it was
the best way to facilitate the transport of the food produced in the dominions of all the nobles to
Delamock, the main storehouse of the empire's food. What a shameless joke."
Lorist chuckled.
"I don't care about the things that happened in the past. Whatever the case, I want to make it clear that
nobody may stop us from doing what we want in the lands we control. Oh well, the territories in
Delamock will all have to be moved anyway. I expect there to be more than 100 thousand people who
surrender. We'll just have them build the highway. A straight highway will save us so much time and
allow us to better respond to military situations. I want this highway finished in two year's time."
"Your Grace," responded Charade as he stood up.
Ever since he was made duke, his subordinates and household knights began to address him as 'Your
Grace'. Only a few people still called him 'Milord Lorist'. Privately, some like Charade would call Lorist
'Locke', but in official discussions, they would still use 'Your Grace'.
"There's a piece of bad news. The house is likely to spend more than the expense stipulated in our
budget. Apart from helping House Kenmays and House Shazin with their dominion's relocation, we have
to begin development on the eastern Northlands and the former territory of the Shazins, as well as take
charge of the move of Sidgler locals. We have to mobilize Tigersoar to deal with Queen Carey soon as
well.
"And now, you've just announced you'll be building a highway from Delamock to The Northlands. Our
house has already exceeded our budget by six million gold Fordes. The way I see it, development is more
important than war. Your Grace, I urge you to consider the stability of the house's finances. I suggest we
postpone the war against the Andinaq kingdom's current administration. Restoring the second
highness's throne will set our house back one million gold Fordes, and I believe it an unwise move."

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Chapter 639: Isabella

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

She felt increasingly oppressed by worry as the time went by.

At this moment, she heard footsteps outside.

Isabella's heart vibrated.

"Does he come to sentence me?"

"It's impossible!" Isabella blurted.

"That may also be caused by the difference between species."

"They'll disappear from this world as if they never exist."

"What on earth was he thinking?"

Curious as she was, she still kept her mouth shut.

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Chapter 640: Dream World Hypotheses

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Isabella was startled, wondering, "that's all I have to do for him?"

"What a lovely day," she thought.

"Spend a thousand gold royals...and what?"

She wanted me to give up fighting, in order to get my complete memories.

Now, he was wondering what the strong-willed losers would do?

However, out of Zero's expectation, he was not a man of this era.

Unfortunately, he could not ask Zero to confirm this speculation.

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Chapter 641: The Door to the Fragment

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Now he was responsible for raising the newborn.

Somehow, Roland felt quite bitter in his heart.

Not only for her, but also for himself.

"Ah, just go. Take care!" Roland nodded.

Well, it was time to check and count his property.

This was all his disposable wealth.

He made up his mind at the thought.

"And there's also a lock hanging ridiculously on the door!"

"New Holy City, Hermes"

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Chapter 642: First Exploration

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Roland fiercely shut the door and took a deep breath.

So... was the door only in room 0825, or in every flat?

Roland felt excited about this idea.

He wondered what Zero would think this scene.

He saw a clear boundary of this world.

Was this the memory fragment that remained in Zero's mind?

After that, Roland wandered through this suburban campsite.

Accordingly, Holy City should be unmanned as well.

He felt so good after picking up so many things for free.

Anyway, it was dirty enough.

Roland realized that it was not an illusion.

But something hard to describe.

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Chapter 643: How to Make a Fortune

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Soon came the sound of showering from the bathroom.

"Didn't you go down to have breakfast?"

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Chapter 644: Diplomacy in the New Era

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

After lunch, Roland summoned Barov into the bedroom.

"Just for a peace negotiation?"

"They've tracked the Star of Extinction in the sky?"